Molecular Biology of Hepatitis C Virus: An Overview

The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an enveloped, positive strand RNA virus and has been classified as a separate genus Hepacivirus of the family Flaviviridae. The HCV genome is a linear molecule with a length of approximately 9.6 kb that is flanked by 5` and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) and encodes to a nearly 3,010 amino acids polyprotein precursor. It is cleaved by combination of viral and host proteases into structural (C, P7, El, and E2) and non-structural proteins (NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A and NS5B), essential for viral replication and viron formation in post-translational process. The 5` and 3' UTRs are highly conserved regions in HCV genome, crucial for molecular processes such as replication and translation. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about HCV molecular and structural HCV biology. This knowledge may help to improve treatment strategies and development of vaccine against HCV.