The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to “Harvey J Alter, Michael Houhgton and Charles M Rice“ for their discoveries of “Hepatitis C virus“.

First identified in 1989, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects over 170 million people with almost 3% of the world population seropositive for anti-HCV antibodies. Chronic infection occurs in 80-85% of those acutely infected and can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and death. HCV belongs to the family Flaviviridae and has a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome that codes for a 3011 amino acid polyprotein. This polyprotein is subsequently processed by viral and cellular proteases into three structural proteins (core, E1, and E2) and seven non-structural proteins (p7, NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A, and NS5B). While genetic diversity makes HCV highly adaptable to challenges from the host immune system and antiviral drugs, research into HCV biology has revealed new targets (e.g., the NS5B polymerase and the NS3 protease) for specific antiviral therapies that create new hope for HCV-infected people.

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