EndoNurse.com, April 20, 2007 GALVESTON, Texas - Despite the fact that they both infect the liver, the hepatitis A and hepatitis C viruses actually have very little in common. The two are far apart genetically, are transmitted differently, and produce very different diseases. According to researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), though, these two otherwise unrelated liver viruses have one important thing in common: a trick for avoiding destruction by the immune system. Both dodge immune attacks by attacking the same protein - an essential link in a chain of molecular signals that triggers antiviral responses.