Salient molecular features of hepatitis C virus revealed.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive strand RNA virus with a narrow host and tissue tropism. It ranks among the most significant of human pathogens, causing inflammation, scarring and cancer of the liver. Recent investigations have shed light on some of the salient molecular features of this virus. These include a requirement for CD81 (a tetraspanin transmembrane protein for viral entry), a novel mechanism for the initiation of RNA synthesis, phosphorylation of a viral protein in the regulation of RNA amplification and virus assembly and, finally, a viral protease suppressing activation of the innate immune response in infected cells.