抄録
Systems of subgenomic replicon and recombinant infectious hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been established in 1999 and 2005, and virological techniques are able to be applied to the HCV research, especially regarding molecular mechanisms on replication and virion assembly, respectively. We showed that HCV active replication complex contains membrane structures, characteristic of lipid rafts. We also recently demonstrated an important role of cholesterol and sphingolipid in HCV infection and virion maturation. Finally, inhibitors of cellular cholesterol and sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway efficiently block virion production. Association of hepatitis C virus with lipid can be also a source of new antiviral therapies.
