Hepatitis C virus proteins (HCV proteins)

The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) proteins are the functional products of the HCV genome, initially synthesized as a single large polyprotein of approximately 3,000 amino acids that is subsequently processed into ten individual structural and non-structural proteins [2, 5, 13]. The structural proteins (Core, E1, and E2) are responsible for viral assembly and entry into host hepatocytes, while the non-structural proteins (p7, NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A, and NS5B) facilitate viral replication and immune evasion [1, 5, 10]. Key therapeutic targets within this group include the NS3/4A serine protease, the NS5A phosphoprotein, and the NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase [4, 6, 8]. Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) target these specific proteins to inhibit the viral life cycle, leading to high rates of sustained virological response (cure) in patients with chronic hepatitis C [7, 11]. Chronic infection is a major driver of liver inflammation, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma [14, 17]. Modern treatment regimens typically combine multiple DAAs to overcome viral genetic diversity and prevent the development of drug resistance [8, 11].

Other names

Hepatitis C virus polyproteinHCV non-structural proteinsHCV structural proteinsHCV NS proteinsHCV polyprotein

Inhibition of NS3/4A serine protease, inhibition of NS5A phosphoprotein, and inhibition of NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (via nucleoside/nucleotide analogs or non-nucleoside inhibitors) [4, 6, 8, 11].