Chimeric HCV/GBV-B viruses
OwnerZhi Hong, Nancy J. Butkiewicz +5inventors
InventorsZhi Hong, Nancy J. Butkiewicz, Weidong Zhong, Paul Ingravallo, Jacquelyn Wright-Minogue, Johnson YN Lau, Stanley M. Lemon
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Abstract
This invention relates to nucleic acids encoding HCV/GBV-B constructs and chimeric, infectious HCV/GBV-B viruses that comprise a non-structural (NS) protein function of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The invention further relates to methods for using the nucleic acid constructs and chimeric, infectious viruses to screen for HCV inhibitors in cell culture models or in animal models of viral infection.
Claims45
A nucleic acid encoding a GB virus-B (GBV-B) genome, wherein a nucleic acid sequence encoding a GBV-B NS3 protease is replaced with a nucleic acid sequence encoding a hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 protease, and a nucleic acid sequence encoding a GBV-B NS4A cofactor is replaced by a nucleic acid sequence encoding at least amino acids Cys22 to Gly34 of an HCV NS4A cofactor.
A nucleic acid encoding a GBV-B genome, wherein a nucleic acid sequence encoding a GBV-B NS5B RNA polymerase is replaced with a nucleic acid sequence encoding an HCV NS5B RNA dependent RNA polymerase.
A nucleic acid encoding a GBV-B genome, wherein a nucleotide sequence encoding a GBV-B gene is replaced by a nucleotide sequence encoding a domain of an HCV gene which comprises functional activity, wherein the GBV-B gene and HCV gene are analogous.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.