National Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Infect Genet Evol. 2012 Dec;12(8):1699-709. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2012.07.010. Epub 2012 Aug 2.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been considered to be a significant risk factor in developing liver associated diseases including hepatocellular carcinoma all over the world. HCV is an enveloped positive strand virus comprising a complex between genomic RNA and viral envelope glycoproteins (E1 and E2), which are anchored within host derived double-layered lipid membrane surrounding the nucleocapsid composed of several copies of core protein. HCV cell entry is the first step in infection and viral replication into host cells mainly hepatocytes. HCV cell entry is a complex process involving both the viral (envelope glycoproteins E1/E2) and host factors (cellular receptors and associated factors i.e. CD81, SR-BI, LDL-R, CLDN1, Occludin, DC-SIGN, L-SIGN and Glycosaminoglycans). Besides these the expression of certain other conditions such as polarization and EWI-2 expression inhibits the viral cell entry. Exploring the mechanism of HCV entry will help to better understand the viral life cycle and possible therapeutic targets against HCV infection including viral and host factors involved in this process. New strategies such as RNAi represents a new option for targeting the host or viral factors for prevention and therapeutic against HCV infection. In the current review we try to summarize the current knowledge about mechanism and interaction of cellular and viral factors involved in HCV cell entry and its implication as therapeutic target to inhibit HCV infection.
丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）已被认为是全世界范围内导致肝脏相关疾病（包括肝细胞癌）的重要危险因素。HCV 是一种包膜正链病毒，由基因组 RNA 和病毒包膜糖蛋白（E1 和 E2）组成，它们锚定在由几个核心蛋白组成的核衣壳周围的宿主双层脂质膜内。HCV 细胞进入是感染和病毒复制进入宿主细胞（主要是肝细胞）的第一步。HCV 细胞进入是一个复杂的过程，涉及病毒（包膜糖蛋白 E1/E2）和宿主因素（细胞受体和相关因素，如 CD81、SR-BI、LDL-R、CLDN1、Occludin、DC-SIGN、L-SIGN 和糖胺聚糖）。除此之外，某些其他条件的表达，如极化和 EWI-2 表达，会抑制病毒细胞进入。探索 HCV 进入的机制将有助于更好地理解病毒的生命周期和针对 HCV 感染的可能治疗靶点，包括参与该过程的病毒和宿主因素。新的策略，如 RNAi，代表了针对宿主或病毒因素的新选择，以预防和治疗 HCV 感染。在本综述中，我们试图总结目前关于参与 HCV 细胞进入的细胞和病毒因素的机制和相互作用的知识，并探讨其作为抑制 HCV 感染的治疗靶点的意义。
