HCV Research 20 Years After Discovery: A Summary of the 16th International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus and Related Viruses (2009)

The 16th International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus and Related Viruses took place in Nice, France, on October 3–7, 2009, almost exactly 20 years after Michael Houghton and colleagues reported discovery of the hepatitis C virus (HCV).1Choo Q.L. Kuo G. Weiner A.J. et al.Isolation of a cDNA clone derived from a blood-borne non-A, non-B viral hepatitis genome.Science. 1989; 244: 359-362Crossref PubMed Scopus (6209) Google Scholar At that time, the disease was known as “non-A, non-B hepatitis,” and its prevalence was underestimated. Now, approximately 170 million individuals worldwide are infected; chronic HCV infection is the leading indication for liver transplantation and one of the principal causes of primary liver cancer in industrialized countries.The inaugural lecture, given by David Thomas, gave faces to this disease, showing interviews with HCV-infected patients who reported their sufferings, achievements, and hopes. The symposium was endorsed by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and the French National Agency for AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Research (ANRS). Nine keynote lectures were given by world-recognized experts, and there were 97 oral presentations and 340 posters presented. A brief summary of the highlights of the meeting is presented here. A complete listing of authors and institutions for each study included in this summary (Supplementary Material) can be accessed online at www.gastrojournal.org.Viral EntryThe early steps of the HCV life cycle were introduced before the official opening of the meeting by a short didactic video developed by the iCAP facilities at the University of Lyon 1 (Figure 1). The video can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.ibcp.fr/video/download_hcv.php?format=mov. Viral entry was discussed by Jean Dubuisson in a keynote lecture as well as in 2 oral sessions and a poster session.A major breakthrough at the meeting was the presentation by Krey et al of a model of HCV E2 glycoprotein tertiary organization. Disulfide connectivity (also recently described by other groups), functional data, and secondary structure predictions allowed these investigators to thread the E2 polypeptide chain onto a class II fusion protein template. The model revealed the distribution of E2 amino acids among 3 different domains the to the and a of the polypeptide chain as a for the fusion model to the of HCV in the early steps of the HCV life in the of the of E2 glycoprotein 1 et et et and et to be for in the the of of of the and to in the HCV model that HCV entry and the described the of a in et the of in et the of domains of and E2 from different in HCV entry et et and the of HCV entry et The of to study HCV entry these to a of HCV entry leading to of that the early steps of the HCV life and et al presented a that for of HCV on a 1 of HCV in at early after A of of the were with a of and of primary for HCV were by a the of known in HCV et be to for HCV and model was presented in the HCV protein to a class of the et be by protein 1 HCV to and these from et al that HCV this to a of HCV A is for et HCV that on for their were by A that A et al described the of as a to the as a with on the of the of the A of is by in the and the et A 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liver et al that of HCV in by the of liver in the of HCV as well as the and to of liver and and to inaugural lecture, David that approximately of the 170 million patients with chronic hepatitis C At the time, HCV of the from this meeting described HCV the of lectures the the that can be for HCV the by HCV are developed and the and of and of is that HCV be as to the of the and are in and be are other in the viral life cycle be by as described in by in keynote lecture, in the viral life cycle (Figure for of HCV life with and entry were as a in for its was by et al to with of the of and in a of was and to the by the of in described in viral entry that are for et al reported the of of the in of the of were the in The of HCV entry be in after liver transplantation in HCV-infected this as well as as et be to patients with of were to HCV their A of to of and were in this et to the of is in in the to a to a in HCV et HCV et al that these the is by the of A and is for was reported to be a of 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place in Nice, France, on October 3–7, 2009, almost exactly 20 years after Michael Houghton and colleagues reported discovery of the hepatitis C virus (HCV).1Choo Q.L. Kuo G. Weiner A.J. et al.Isolation of a cDNA clone derived from a blood-borne non-A, non-B viral hepatitis genome.Science. 1989; 244: 359-362Crossref PubMed Scopus (6209) Google Scholar At that time, the disease was known as “non-A, non-B hepatitis,” and its prevalence was underestimated. Now, approximately 170 million individuals worldwide are infected; chronic HCV infection is the leading indication for liver transplantation and one of the principal causes of primary liver cancer in industrialized The inaugural lecture, given by David Thomas, gave faces to this disease, showing interviews with HCV-infected patients who reported their sufferings, achievements, and hopes. The symposium was endorsed by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and the French National Agency for AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Research (ANRS). Nine keynote lectures were given by world-recognized experts, and there were 97 oral presentations and 340 posters presented. A brief summary of the highlights of the meeting is presented here. A complete listing of authors and institutions for each study included in this summary (Supplementary Material) can be accessed online at Viral EntryThe early steps of the HCV life cycle were introduced before the official opening of the meeting by a short didactic video developed by the iCAP facilities at the University of Lyon 1 (Figure 1). The video can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.ibcp.fr/video/download_hcv.php?format=mov. Viral entry was discussed by Jean Dubuisson in a keynote lecture as well as in 2 oral sessions and a poster session.A major breakthrough at the meeting was the presentation by Krey et al of a model of HCV E2 glycoprotein tertiary organization. Disulfide connectivity (also recently described by other groups), functional data, and secondary structure predictions allowed these investigators to thread the E2 polypeptide chain onto a class II fusion protein template. The model revealed the distribution of E2 amino acids among 3 different domains the to the and a of the polypeptide chain as a for the fusion model to the of HCV in the early steps of the HCV life in the of the of E2 glycoprotein 1 et et et and et to be for in the the of of of the and to in the HCV model that HCV entry and the described the of a in et the of in et the of domains of and E2 from different in HCV entry et et and the of HCV entry et The of to study HCV entry these to a of HCV entry leading to of that the early steps of the HCV life The early steps of the HCV life cycle were introduced before the official opening of the meeting by a short didactic video developed by the iCAP facilities at the University of Lyon 1 (Figure 1). The video can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.ibcp.fr/video/download_hcv.php?format=mov. Viral entry was discussed by Jean Dubuisson in a keynote lecture as well as in 2 oral sessions and a poster A major breakthrough at the meeting was the presentation by Krey et al of a model of HCV E2 glycoprotein tertiary organization. Disulfide connectivity (also recently described by other groups), functional data, and secondary structure predictions allowed these investigators to thread the E2 polypeptide chain onto a class II fusion protein template. The model revealed the distribution of E2 amino acids among 3 different domains the to the and a of the polypeptide chain as a for the fusion model to the of HCV in the early steps of the HCV life in the of the of E2 glycoprotein 1 et et et and et to be for in the the of of of the and to in the HCV model that HCV entry and the described the of a in et the of in et the of domains of and E2 from different in HCV entry et et and the of HCV entry et The of to study HCV entry these to a of HCV entry leading to of that the early steps of the HCV life and et al presented a that for of HCV on a 1 of HCV in at early after A of of the were with a of and of primary for HCV were by a the of known in HCV et be to for HCV and model was presented in the HCV protein to a class of the et be by protein 1 HCV to and these from et al that HCV this to a of HCV A is for et HCV that on for their were by A that A et al described the of as a to the as a with on the of the of the A of is by in the and the et A 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