@article{mbs:/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-83-1-11, author = "Curran, Rebecca and Jameson, Claire L. and Craggs, Joanna K. and Grabowska, Anna M. and Thomson, Brian J. and Robins, Adrian and Irving, William L. and Ball, Jonathan K.", title = "Evolutionary trends of the first hypervariable region of the hepatitis C virus E2 protein in individuals with differing liver disease severity", journal= "Journal of General Virology", year = "2002", volume = "83", number = "1", pages = "11-23", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-83-1-11", url = "https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-83-1-11", publisher = "Microbiology Society", issn = "1465-2099", type = "Journal Article", abstract = "Hepatitis C virus (HCV) exists as a complex swarm of genetically related viruses known as a quasispecies. Recent work has shown that quasispecies complexity and evolutionary rates are associated with the outcome of acute infection. Knowledge of how the virus population evolves at different stages of chronic infection is less clear. We have studied rates of evolution of the first hypervariable region (HVR1) of the E2 envelope protein in six individuals with disparate liver disease severity. These data show that virus populations present in individuals with mild non-progressive liver disease evolve in a typical Darwinian fashion, with a consistent accumulation of non-synonymous (amino acid-changing) substitutions. By contrast, the virus population remains relatively static in individuals with severe progressive liver disease. Possible mechanisms for this disparity are discussed.", }