Publications by authors named "Kim Loesch"
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how hepatitis C virus (HCV) manages to persist in the body by evading the immune system, particularly cell-mediated antiviral responses, using a specialized type of transgenic mice.
- The research found that these HCV(+ ) mice struggle to eliminate a related viral infection despite having normal T-cell responses due to a resistance to a key cell death pathway (Fas-mediated apoptosis) that cytotoxic T lymphocytes typically use to kill infected cells.
- This resistance is linked to lower levels of Bid, which is important for triggering apoptosis, suggesting that this evasion mechanism may not only help HCV to persist but also contribute to the potential development of liver cancer.
Background & Aims: The aim of this study was to determine whether expression of hepatitis C virus proteins alters hepatic morphology or function in the absence of inflammation.
Methods: Transgenic C57BL/6 mice with liver-specific expression of RNA encoding the complete viral polyprotein (FL-N transgene) or viral structural proteins (S-N transgene) were compared with nontransgenic littermates for altered liver morphology and function.
Results: FL-N transcripts were detectable only by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, and S-N transcripts were identified in Northern blots.