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A novel rodent hepacivirus model to study HCV induced alterations in intrahepatic transcriptome.

We recently characterized a rodent hepacivirus species from Rattus norvegicus (RHV-rn-1) that possesses HCV’s defining hallmarks in vivo: hepatotropism and a propensity for establishing persistent infections. Here, we used a systems biology approach to identify the pattern and dynamics of deferentially expressed genes (DEG) during acute and chronic phase of RHV infection. We compared our data with HCV infected chimpanzees and humans to confirm that the RHV-rn-1 infected rats provide a novel and informative surrogate model for delineating mechanisms of HCV persistence, immunity and pathogenesis.