Murine and Human Non-Hepatic Cell Lines that support Hepatitis C Virus replication

Introduction:

Article from the Journal of Virology, Sept. 2003 (PDF, requires Adobe Acrobat^®)

Dr. Christoph Seeger and colleagues of Fox Chase Cancer Center have developed stable human non-hepatic cell lines and murine hepatic cell lines that express subgenomic HCV replicons. Replicons express NS3 protease and NS5B polymerase, key targets for anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug development.

These are the first stable human non-hepatic cell lines and murine hepatic cell lines to express these proteins in the context of replicating the HCV genome.

Applications:

• Independent validation of anti-HCV drug testing
• Enables researchers to determine how anti-HCV agents are metabolized or exhibit toxicity in different cell types
• Tools for the characterization of virus assembly and replication

Opportunity:

Fox Chase is seeking commercial partners who are active in the development of anti-HCV therapeutics for licensing and collaboration.

Publications:

Zhu Q et al., "Replication of Hepatitis C Virus Subgenomes in Nonhepatic Epithelial and Mouse Hepatoma Cells," Sept 2003. J. Virology 77: 9204-9210.

Patent Status:

A U.S. patent application has been filed that covers the cell lines and methods for generating new HCV-expressing cell lines.

For licensing information, contact