Roles of lipoprotein and apolipoprotein in HCV infection.

Although chronic infection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) induces disorders of lipid metabolism, HCV is known to utilize lipid metabolism for efficient propagation in the liver. Due to the morphological and physiological similarities of HCV particles to lipoproteins, lipid-associated HCV particles are named lipoviroparticles. Previous reports have shown that lipoprotein receptors or cholesterol transporter participate in the entry of lipoviroparticles. In addition, recent analyses revealed that exchangeable apolipoproteins directly interact with the viral membrane to generate infectious HCV particles. In this review, we would like to discuss about involvement of lipoprotein and apolipoprotein in HCV lifecycle.