PROPAGATION OF HUMAN HEPATOBLASTOMA CELL IN NON-HUMAN ANIMALS

摘要

The present invention relates to a model system for hepatitis C virus infection in humans. The model system is a non-human animal that is rendered immunologically tolerant to human hepatoblastoma cells and subsequently transplanted with the human hepatoblastoma cells. The invention is based, at least in part, on the discovery that ordents, tolerized in utero against human hepatoblastoma cells, were found to serve as long-term hosts for human hepatoblastoma cells introduced postnatally, and the introduced hepatoblastoma cells maintained a differentiated phenotype. Thus, the resulting chimeric animal is susceptible to hepatitis C infection and the infection results in the production of newly formed virions. Furthermore, this in vivo model system of the human liver can be used to identify and characterize HCV receptors.