Kapoor, Amit, Simmonds, Peter, Gerold, Gisa, Qaisar, Natasha, Jain, Komal, Henriquez, Jose A., Firth, Cadhla, Hirschberg, David L., Rice, Charles M., Shields, Shelly, and Lipkin, W. Ian (2011) Characterization of a canine homolog of hepatitis C virus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108 (28). pp. 11608-11613.

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Abstract

An estimated 3% of the world's population is chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Although HCV was discovered more than 20 y ago, its origin remains obscure largely because no closely related animal virus homolog has been identified; furthermore, efforts to understand HCV pathogenesis have been hampered by the absence of animal models other than chimpanzees for human disease. Here we report the identification in domestic dogs of a nonprimate hepacivirus. Comparative phylogenetic analysis of the canine hepacivirus (CHV) confirmed it to be the most genetically similar animal virus homolog of HCV. Bayesian Markov chains Monte Carlo and associated time to most recent common ancestor analyses suggest a mean recent divergence time of CHV and HCV clades within the past 500–1,000 y, well after the domestication of canines. The discovery of CHV may provide new insights into the origin and evolution of HCV and a tractable model system with which to probe the pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of diseases caused by hepacivirus infection.

Item ID:	59915
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1091-6490
Copyright Information:	Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Date Deposited:	17 Jul 2024 02:18
FoR Codes:	06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0604 Genetics > 060409 Molecular Evolution @ 33% 11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1103 Clinical Sciences > 110309 Infectious Diseases @ 34% 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0604 Genetics > 060408 Genomics @ 33%
SEO Codes:	92 HEALTH > 9201 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) > 920109 Infectious Diseases @ 50% 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 50%
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