Hepatitis C Virus

Preface; Part I. Basic Principles: 1. Background; 2. The virus; 3. Epidemiology and transmission; 4. Natural history of infection; 5. Pathogenesis of infection; 6. HCV and hepatocellular carcinoma; 7. Extrahepatic sites for hepatatis C; 8. HCV and autoimmune diseases; 9. Clinical aspects of the disease; 10. Current therapeutic approaches; 11. NS5A and interferon resistance; Part II. Recent Advances: 12. Propagation of virus in culture; 13. Understanding the natural history of HCV; 14. HCV animal models; 15. Vaccine research; Part III. Experimental Approaches: 16. New systems to understand HCV biology; 17. New antiviral screening assays; 18. Antiviral gene therapy; Part IV. Protocols and Techniques: 19. Sample collection, preparation and storage; 20. HCV RNA in blood and tissue samples; 21. HCV RNA genotypes and quasispecies; 22. Replication of HCV in tissue culture; 23. NS3 protease, helicase and NTPase; 24. Characterization of NS5B; Part V. Outstanding Questions and Emerging Areas for Investigation; References; Index.