Replication of hepatitis C virus in cultured non-neoplastic human hepatocytes

We established a replication system for hepatitis C virus (HCV) using the PH5CH non-neoplastic human hepatocyte line that had been immortalized with simian virus 40 large T antigen. In cells inoculated with sera derived from two HCV-positive blood donors, positive-stranded HCV RNA was detected up to 30 days postinoculation (p.i.). Semi-quantitative analysis of HCV RNA revealed that HCV multiplied during the period of culture. Sequence analysis of the HCV hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) in both cases indicated that HVR1 populations from the cells at 8 days p.i. were apparently different from those of the original inocula. HVR1 populations in infected cells became homogeneous or just a few species were selected over time. These results suggest that HCV is replicating in the human hepatocyte PH5CH cells. This culture system will be useful for detailed studies of the biological effects of HCV in human hepatocytes.