From Discovery to Cure, A Great Journey of the Hepatitis C Virus Study

Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes chronic infection in over 75% of the HCV-infected individuals, resulting in liver cancer in substantial patients. Since its discovery in 1989, HCV experiences a journey from discovery to cure, largely due to the virology studies and success of direct antiviral agent (DAA) development. We reviewed the HCV research journey, from the discovery of this virus to the development of DAAs for cure. Learning the methodology used in HCV studies and the knowledge of developing DAAs against HCV may inspire the studies of other difficult-to-culture viruses, such as hepatitis E virus and norovirus, as well as the development of DAAs for other single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses, including the pandemic-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus, which shares the common replication strategy of forming a membrane-bound viral replicase.