Topic Highlight
Copyright ©2007 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 7, 2007; 13(17): 2427-2435
Published online May 7, 2007. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i17.2427
New animal models for hepatitis C viral infection and pathogenesis studies
Dina Kremsdorf, Nicolas Brezillon
Dina Kremsdorf, Nicolas Brezillon, INSERM U812, Paris, France; Pasteur Institute, Paris, France; Université Paris Descartes, Faculté de Médecine René Descartes, CHU Necker, Paris 75015, France
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dina Kremsdorf, INSERM U812, Université Paris Descartes, Faculté de Médecine René Descartes, CHU Necker, 156, rue de Vaugirard, Paris 75015, France. kremsdor@necker.fr
Telephone: +33-1-40615343 Fax: +33-1-40615581
Received: December 23, 2006
Revised: December 28, 2006
Accepted: February 12, 2007
Published online: May 7, 2007
Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In man, the pathobiological changes associated with HCV infection have been attributed to both the immune system and direct viral cytopathic effects. Until now, the lack of simple culture systems to infect and propagate the virus has hampered progress in understanding the viral life cycle and pathogenesis of HCV infection, including the molecular mechanisms implicated in HCV-induced HCC. This clearly demonstrates the need to develop small animal models for the study of HCV-associated pathogenesis. This review describes and discusses the development of new HCV animal models to study viral infection and investigate the direct effects of viral protein expression on liver disease.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus; Viral infection; Transgenic mice; Pathogenesis