When I was ?rst approached by Dr. Hengli Tang about writing the foreword to this book, the second edition of Hepatitis C Virus, I was a little puzzled: Book forewords are penned by persons far more famous than I am. Surely there were better people to write this, with a handful of the true visionaries in the ?eld immediately coming to my mind. However, after some thought and self-re?ection, I realized that I might just be the right person for the job. I remember the publication of the ?rst edition of Hepatitis C Virus in 1998, the year I began reading about hepatitis C virus with great interest. I purchased a copy of the ?rst edition from my meager graduate student stipend and read it from cover to cover, along with a variety of hepatitis C publications, to try to get a feel if this hepatitis C virus ?eld was something I might want to work on in the future. At the time, the ?rst edition was among the most comprehensive collection of hepatitis C protocols and methods available in one volume. I was amazed at the progress that had been made in hepatitis C research, and even more amazed as I learned more about the experimental challenges facing the ?eld at that time.
With the development of robust cell-culturing systems capable of Hepatitis C Virus replication and infection, the past decade has witnessed an explosion of innovative research directed at understanding HCV biology in the context of the authentic replicative cycle of the virus. By providing a compilation of cutting-edge research techniques currently in use in HCV labs worldwide, Hepatitis C: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition fully updates the previous edition to reflect this progress which promises to unlock the remaining vital information regarding this human pathogen and its interactions. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, chapters include brief introductions to the topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Fully updated and comprehensive, Hepatitis C: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition serves as a valuable reference guide for basic and clinical researchers using HCV as a model and striving to better understand this critical disease.
