Hepatitis C Virus Replication in Cell Culture

By using self-replicating hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNAs, it is now possible to investigate various aspects of the viral replication cycle in cell culture. Here, we describe the construction of subgenomic and genomic replicons which replicate to high levels in the human hepatoma cell line Huh-7. Furthermore, we report and discuss recent contributions from our laboratory which has provided a better understanding of (i) HCV particle formation, (ii) the mechanisms behind the cell culture-adaptation of HCV, and (iii) the innate immune response against HCV.