Table 1.

Current animal models for the study of HCV infection.

	Chimpanzee	Tree shrew	uPA-SCID	FRG	AFC8-huHSC/Hep	Rosa26-FLuc	Rat
HCV entry	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
HCV production	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Viremia	Weaker than in humans	Low	High	High	No	No	Low
HCV pathogenesis	Milder than in humans, HCC?	Hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis	No	No	Fibrosis	N/A	Hepatitis
Immune response	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
MHC match Immune system/ hepatocytes	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	Yes	Yes	No
MHC match Immune system/host	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	No	Yes	Yes
Vaccine development	Yes	Possible	No	No	Yes	No	No

HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; N/A, not applicable.