Hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus is an enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus in the family Flaviviridae. It infects liver cells and can cause acute or chronic hepatitis.

Hepatitis C virus genome: The approximately 9.6-kilobase positive-sense RNA molecule that encodes hepatitis C virus proteins. Its single long open reading frame is translated into the proteins that build and operate the virus.
Direct-acting antiviral: An antiviral drug that directly inhibits a viral protein required for replication. Modern hepatitis C treatment combines these drugs to block distinct stages of viral replication.
Non-A, non-B hepatitis: A form of transfusion-associated hepatitis not attributable to hepatitis A or B viruses, later linked mainly to hepatitis C virus. The mystery illness was the clinical problem the virus's discovery resolved.
Chronic hepatitis C: Long-lasting hepatitis C virus infection, conventionally defined by detectable viral RNA more than six months after infection. Most untreated infections become chronic, allowing years of ongoing liver inflammation.
Hepatitis C virus polyprotein: A single precursor protein cleaved into the structural and nonstructural proteins of hepatitis C virus. Host and viral proteases cut this precursor to produce functional viral proteins.
NS5A inhibitor: A drug that blocks NS5A, a hepatitis C virus protein involved in RNA replication and particle assembly. NS5A inhibitors are core components of many highly effective treatment regimens.
Harvey J. Alter: An American physician-scientist whose studies established non-A, non-B hepatitis as a blood-borne infection. His transfusion research provided crucial evidence for the infectious agent later identified as HCV.
Cirrhosis: Advanced liver scarring that distorts liver architecture and can impair organ function. Long-standing hepatitis C can progressively scar the liver and lead to cirrhosis.
NS3-4A protease: A hepatitis C virus enzyme complex that cleaves viral polyprotein and disrupts host antiviral signaling. Its cleavage activity is essential for replication and became a direct drug target.
NS5B polymerase inhibitor: A drug that inhibits NS5B, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of hepatitis C virus. Blocking this enzyme prevents the virus from copying its RNA genome.

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