Composition for treatment of and method of monitoring hepatitis C virus using interferon-TAU

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION I.
Definitions Hepatitis C virus or HCV refers to the viral species of which pathogenic types cause Non-A Non-B Hepatitis (NANBH), and attenuated types or defective interfering particles derived therefrom.
The HCV genome is comprised of RNA.
RNA containing viruses have relatively high rates of spontaneous mutation reportedly on the order of 10-3 to 10-4 per incorporated nucleotide.
Since heterogeneity and fluidity of genotype are inherent in RNA viruses, there are multiple types/subtypes, within the HCV species which may be virulent or avirulent.
The propagation, identification, detection, and isolation of various HCV types or isolates is documented in the literature.
Treating a condition refers to administering a therapeutic substance effective to reduce the symptoms of the condition and/or lessen the severity of the condition.
Oral refers to any route that involves administration by the mouth or direct administration into the stomach or intestines, including gastric administration.
OAS level refers to the concentration or activity of blood 2′,5′-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS) protein.
Recombinant host cells, host cells, cells, cell lines, cell cultures, and other such terms denoting microorganisms or higher eukaryotic cell lines cultured as unicellular entities, are used interchangeably, and refer to cells which can be, or have been, used as recipients for recombinant vector or other transfer DNA, and include the progeny of the original cell transfected.
It is understood that the progeny of a single parental cell may not necessarily be completely identical in morphology or in genomic or total DNA complement as the original parent, due to accidental or deliberate mutation.
Progeny of the parental cell which are sufficiently similar to the parent to be characterized by the relevant property, such as the presence of a nucleotide sequence encoding a desired peptide, are included in the progeny intended yb this definition, and are covered by the above terms