Objective: To establish a mathematical model of hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication and develop a working theory for antiviral therapy in order to understand the dynamics of HCV replication.
Methods: Peripheral blood cells of 4 hepatitis C patients were cultured. Quantities of the HCV were detected every 15 min by real-time PCR. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. A mathematical functional relationship between HCV RNA and the time lapse was established.
Results: The quantity of HCV RNA declined and it fell into a mathematical model: Y=3E+0.8e(-0.5467x) (r=0.9547). The estimated virion half-life was 45 min on the average.
Conclusions: The decline of HCV RNA in the blood is not of a linear trend and the HCV RNA lasts a longer time although the speed of the decline is faster than that in vivo.