Molecular Aspects of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Caused by Hepatitis C Virus
Ali Karami
1
, *
,
Seyed Moayed Alavian
2
,
Ali Najafi
2
and
Mohammad Javad Hosseini
2
1 Research Center of Molecular biology, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Karami@bmsu.ac.ir, Tehran, IR.Iran
2 Liver and Gastroentestinal Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences and Tehran Hepatitis Center, Tehran, IR.Iran
*
Research Center of Molecular biology, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Karami@bmsu.ac.ir, Tehran, IR.Iran. Tel: +98 21 88039883. Fax: +98 21 88057023. Email:
Karami@bmsu.ac.ir
Hepatitis Monthly: 6 (2) ; 75-82 Article Type: Review Article
Received:
May 12, 2006
Accepted:
May 25, 2006
To Cite:
Karami
A, Alavian
S, Najafi
A, Hosseini
M. Molecular Aspects of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Caused by Hepatitis C Virus,
Hepat Mon.
Online ahead of Print
; 6(2):75-82.
Abstract
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small, enveloped, single-stranded positive sense RNA virus with a diameter of about 50 nm belonging to the Hepacivirus genus of the family Flaviviridae. The HCV genome is translated to produce a single protein of around 3011 amino acids. This "polyprotein" is then proteolytically processed by viral and cellular proteases to produce structural (core protein, envelope glycoproteins E1 and E2, ARFP/F protein, p7) and nonstructural (NS2-3 autoprotease, NS3-4A, NS4B, NS5A, NS5B) proteins. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent malignant tumors worldwide, with increasing incidence. It is estimated that approximately 300-400 thousands of people in the IRAN and 4 million in the United States are persistently infected. It is important for tumor control to identify the factors that predispose patients to death. A large number of molecular factors have been shown to associate with the invasiveness of HCC, and have potential prognostic significance.
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