Evaluation of cross-genotype immunity by multigenotype HCV-NS3 recombinant vaccinia virus surrogat infection

Aims: The development of an effective prophylactic vaccine against the hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a major problem despite considerable efforts. Progress has been hampered by the lack of a convenient animal model and until recently by the limitations in growing the virus in cell culture. Therefore, experimental vaccines are frequently tested in mice, often employing HLA-A2.1 transgenic strains. Surrogate infections with HCV-recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVV) that replicate in the mouse have been used in a number of studies to evaluate vaccine potency in vivo. Although a lot has been learned about various vac…