Mammalian cells respond to virus challenge by initiating a “host response” characterized by interferon α/β (IFN) production and a cellular antiviral state. The host response is our first line of immune defense against viral pathogens and it imposes several barriers that hepatitis C virus (HCV) must overcome to replicate and persist. HCV evades the host response through a complex combination of virus-host interactions that disrupt intracellular signaling pathways and attenuate the antiviral actions of IFN. Regulation of the host response breaks a link between innate and adaptive immunity and provides a foundation for HCV replication and spread.
Copyright © 2006, Horizon Bioscience.