ANALYSIS OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS INFECTION MODELS WITH HEPATOCYTE HOMEOSTASIS.

Recently, we developed a model for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection that explicitly includes proliferation of infected and uninfected hepatocytes. The model predictions agree with a large body of experimental observations on the kinetics of HCV RNA change during acute infection, under antiviral therapy, and after the cessation of therapy. Here we mathematically analyze and characterize both the steady state and dynamical behavior of this model. The analyses presented here are important not only for HCV infection but should also be relevant for modeling other infections with hepatotropic viruses, such as hepatitis B virus.