Hepatitic C Virus
Lentiviral vectors (LV) have been widely used as gene therapy vectors for the treatment of multiple acquired and inherited diseases. Particularly, glycoproteins derived from viruses that cause specific infection could be useful for gene therapy of related diseases. As a leading company in the field of gene therapy, Creative Biolabs has developed advanced platforms for LV construction and optimization. Our experienced scientists are happy to help LV pseudotyping for targeting numerous cells, such as CD81+ cells.
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)
HCV is a positive-stranded RNA virus classified in the family Flaviviridae. Infection is often associated with chronic disease, sometimes resulting in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The principal site of HCV replication is liver. Other than hepatocytes, HCV also infects PBMCs, such as B cells, T cells, monocytes/macrophages, and dendritic cells. The initiation infection of a virus to a target cell is usually determined by an interaction between the viral GPs and specific cell-surface receptor(s). Investigations of such interaction(s) will provide vital information about the host range and cellular or tissue tropism of a virus. However, the lack of in vitro systems for HCV propagation hampered biological and physicochemical studies on the virion and its mechanism(s) of cell entry.
Figure 1. Structure of hepatitis C virus.
LV Pseudotypes Bearing HCV-derived GPs
HCV encodes two putative envelope glycoproteins (GPs), E1 and E2, which are believed to be type I integral transmembrane proteins. Recently, a major technical advance in the field has been the discovery that unmodified HCV envelope glycoproteins can pseudotype retroviral particles and mediate entry into target cells. This model seems to authentically replicate the early steps of the HCV life cycle, enabling detailed studies of HCV tropism and entry into target cells. Especially, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and HIV based pseudotypes have been confirmed infectious for the human hepatoma cell lines Huh-7 and PLC/PR5. These pseudotype viruses are invaluable to investigate the mechanism of HCV entry and evaluate therapeutics targeting the HCV GP-cell interaction.
Services
To meet every client's specific requirements, Creative Biolabs has successfully established a top technology platform for lentiviral vector construction. Our professional scientists are able to design and optimize a full package of lentiviral vectors bearing numerous heterologous GPs, which including but not limited to HCV glycoprotein. Particularly, we have established stable cell lines, such as HEK293T and HEK293 cells, for LV vectors production.
We are dedicated to optimizing lentivirus vectors to promote the development of global customers' projects. For more detailed information, please feel free to contact us or directly send us an inquiry.
