Antigenic epitopes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and mosaic HCV polypeptides
useful as reagents in assays for the diagnosis or monitoring of HCV in a
biological sample. The antigenic epitopes and mosaic polypeptides are
also useful for the construction of immunogenic pharmaceutical
compositions, such as vaccines. The mosaic polypeptides are artificial
composite proteins constructed from diagnostically relevant antigenic
regions derived from different HCV proteins. Preferably, the mosaic
polypeptides contain antigenic epitopes from the core protein, NS3
protein, and NS4 protein. The preferred mosaic polypeptides optionally
contain an additional antigenic epitope from either the NS4 protein or
the NS5a protein or both.