CAVEOLIN-3 AND IN VITRO CULTURE OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS

摘要

Caveolin-3 has been identified as a cellular factor that associates with HCV protein El and E2, and is proposed as a cellular limiting factor. As an alternative possibility, caveolin-3 may act as a cellular receptor for HCV, acting alongside CD81. In either scenario, cells with increased expression of caveolin-3 will be better suited to the in vitro culture of HCV, and blocking the interaction between caveolin-3 and HCV proteins has therapeutic potential.