Abstract
Chimpanzees represent the only animal model for studies of the natural history of hepatitis C virus (HCV). To generate virus stocks of important HCV variants, we infected chimpanzees with HCV strains of genotypes 1-6 and determined the infectivity titer of acute-phase plasma pools in additional animals. The courses of first- and second-passage infections were similar, with early appearance of viremia, HCV RNA titers of >104.7 IU/mL, and development of acute hepatitis; the chronicity rate was 56%. The challenge pools had titers of 103-105 chimpanzee infectious doses/mL. Human liver-chimeric mice developed high-titer infections after inoculation with the challenge viruses of genotypes 1-6. Inoculation studies with different doses of the genotype lb pool suggested that a relatively high virus dose is required to consistently infect chimeric mice. The challenge pools represent a unique resource for studies of HCV molecular virology and for studies of pathogenesis, protective immunity, and vaccine efficacy in vivo.
Originalsprog | Engelsk |
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Tidsskrift | Journal of Infectious Diseases |
Vol/bind | 201 |
Udgave nummer | 9 |
Sider (fra-til) | 1381-9 |
Antal sider | 9 |
ISSN | 0022-1899 |
DOI | |
Status | Udgivet - 1 maj 2010 |