Truncated hepatitis C virus core protein encoded in hepatocellular carcinomas.

Studies have suggested that a truncated form of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein can enter hepatocyte nuclei and might play a role in HCV-associated hepato-carcinogenesis. In the present study, the HCV core gene from hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and/or adjacent non-tumorous liver tissues from eight patients was amplified by nested RT-PCR and sequenced. Mutations in the HCV core gene that would encode a truncated core protein were found in 4 of the 8 patients. Since truncated core proteins have been shown to be capable of entry into the hepatocyte nucleus (unlike HCV itself, which is an exclusively cytoplasmic virus), the detection of mutated sequences encoding them in these four HCC patients suggests that these mutations may have played a role in the development of these HCCs.