Scientists discover how virus evades immune system in acute and chronic infections; new vaccines may result Researchers at Johns Hopkins have uncovered how a majority of the genetic changes in the hepatic-C virus, the most common cause of liver disease, allow it to evade the body’s immune system during infection. Hepatitis C infection can lead to cirrhosis, cancer and even death. In a series of experiments that describe the virus’ transition from an acute to chronic infection, the Hopkins team found that one-half of the virus’ changes in its genome are in sites under attack by the body’s immune system. As the virus evolves and these changes weaken the body’s immune response, a second set of changes at other sites in the genome are reverting back to an “ancestral” set of amino acids.
