cis-Acting RNA elements in the hepatitis C virus RNA genome.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a rapidly increasing global health problem with an estimated 170 million people infected worldwide. HCV is a hepatotropic, positive-sense RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae. As a positive-sense RNA virus, the HCV genome itself must serve as a template for translation, replication and packaging. The viral RNA must therefore be a dynamic structure that is able to readily accommodate structural changes to expose different regions of the genome to viral and cellular proteins to carry out the HCV life cycle. The ∼ 9600 nucleotide viral genome contains a single long open reading frame flanked by 5' and 3' non-coding regions that contain cis-acting RNA elements important for viral translation, replication and stability. Additional cis-acting RNA elements have also been identified in the coding sequences as well as in the 3' end of the negative-strand replicative intermediate. Herein, we provide an overview of the importance of these cis-acting RNA elements in the HCV life cycle.