NUCLEIC ACID CONSTRUCT CONTAINING FULL LENGTH GENOME OF HUMAN HEPATITIS C VIRUS, RECOMBINANT FULL LENGTH VIRUS GENOME-REPLICATING CELLS HAVING THE NUCLEIC ACID CONSTRUCT TRANSFERRED THEREINTO AND METHOD OF PRODUCING HEPATITIS C VIRUS PARTICLE

摘要

The present invention provides a method for replicating efficiently an RNA containing full length HCV genomic sequence and a method for producing HCV virus particles containing full length HCV replicon RNA or full length HCV genomic RNA by using a cell culture system. Further, the present invention relates to a method for producing hepatitis C virus particles which comprises culturing a cell, into which a replicon RNA comprising a nucleotide sequence comprising a full length genomic RNA sequence of hepatitis C virus of the genotype 2a, at least one selectable marker gene and/or at least one reporter gene and at least one IRES sequence or the full length genomic RNA of hepatitis C virus of the genotype 2a is introduced, and generating virus particles in the culture medium. Still further, the present invention relates to methods of using an RNA comprising SEQ ID NO: 12.