Hepatitis C Virus: Proteins and Enzymes

HCV is a positive, single-stranded RNA virus in the Flaviviridae family. The genome is approximately 10,000 nucleotides and encodes a single polyprotein of about 3,000 amino acids. The polyprotein is processed by host cell and viral proteases into three major structural proteins including NS3, and several non-structural proteins necessary for viral replication. The NS3 part of the polyprotein displays three enzymatic activities: serine protease, NTPase and RNA helicase.