Hepatitis E virus (HEV) presents a worldwide distribution. In developing countries, hepatitis E, related to HEV1 and HEV2, is a waterborne disease. In developed countries, hepatitis E is a zoonotic disease due to HEV3 and HEV4. It is mainly transmitted through meat consumption from animal reservoirs such as pig, boar, deer and rabbit. New clinical forms include neurological manifestations that are now clearly associated with HEV3 infection. Recent studies showed that ORF1 polyprotein was able to disrupt the innate immune response. It was also shown that ORF2 protein exists at least in two forms: a free, glycosylated form and a non-glycosylated form, which assembles to form the capsid. Lastly, it was shown that ORF3 protein, involved in the virus egress, acts as a viroporin. New culture systems and animal models have been developed recently, and will be very helpful to complete our understanding of HEV life cycle and pathogenesis.
Keywords: animal models; cell culture systems; hepatitis E virus; innate immunity; molecular virology; pathogenesis.