How hepatitis C virus invades hepatocytes: The mystery of viral entry

Table 1 Characterization and the main function of cell surface molecules required for hepatitis C virus entry

	Characterization	Main function in HCV entry
GAGs	Binding factor	Attachment to HCV E1 and ApoE
LDL-R	Binding factor	Binding to virion-associated lipoprotein
SR-BI	Receptor	Binding to virion-associated lipoprotein; lipid transfer; binding to E2 HVR1
CD81	Receptor	Interaction with E2; signaling pathway activation which promotes actin remodeling
CLDN1	Receptor	Interaction with HCV-CD81 complex
OCLN	Receptor	Function at the late stage of HCV entry
EGFR and EphA2	Entry factor	Signaling pathways activation which lead to the formation of CD81-CLDN1 complexes
TfR1	Entry factor	Possibly involved in virus internalization
NPC1L1	Entry factor	Possibly involved in endosomal fusion

HCV: Hepatitis C virus; GAGs: Glycosaminoglycans; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein; CLDN1: Claudin-1; OCLN: Occludin; EGFR: Epidermal growth factor receptor; EphA2: Ephrin receptor A2; TfR1: Transferrin receptor 1; NPC1L1: Niemann-Pick C1-like 1.