The CD81 LEL is the critical region for the interaction with the E2 envelope glycoprotein and for virus entry. The

role of CD81 in the species restriction of HCV has been extensively studied [13–18], and it has been recently shown that in spite of the absence of in vitro interaction between murine CD81 (mCD81) LEL Selleckchem NU7026 and a soluble form of HCV E2, the ectopic expression of mCD81 in HepG2 cells restored permissivity to HCVpp and, in a lesser extent, to HCVcc [15]. These results suggest that CD81 contributes to, but alone does not define, the species restriction and additional cellular factors are likely involved. Moreover, we have recently shown that EWI-2wint, a new partner of CD81, is able to modulate HCV entry in target cells suggesting that, in addition to the presence of specific entry factors in the hepatocytes, the absence of a specific inhibitor may contribute to the hepatotropism of HCV [19]. Members of the tetraspanin family organize and regroup their associated transmembrane proteins and are involved in various functions such as cell

morphology, motility, fusion and signalling [12, 20]. A major selleck compound characteristic of tetraspanins is their ability to interact with each other and with other transmembrane proteins, thus building multi-molecular membrane complexes, collectively referred to as the tetraspanin enriched microdomains (TEM) or tetraspanin webs [21, 22]. Membrane HKI272 cholesterol contributes to the organization of these domains on the surface of live cells [23]. Cholesterol is also critical to many pathogens, including HCV [24] and Plasmodium

infection [23]. Interestingly, it has been shown that CD81 is required Unoprostone for Plasmodium sporozoite entry and differentiation into hepatocytes [25, 26]. Using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that specifically recognizes a subset of mouse CD81 molecules associated with TEMs (MT81w), Silvie et al. have defined the role of TEM-associated CD81 in mice Plasmodium infection [23]. The similarities between Plasmodium and HCV liver infections indicate the importance of studying the role of TEM-associated CD81 in HCV infection. In our study, infection of Huh-7 target cells with highly infectious HCVcc particles allowed us to isolate a cellular clone resistant to HCV infection which has lost CD81 expression (Huh-7w7 cells). We then took advantage of the emergence of these CD81-deficient cells to analyze the functionality of mCD81 in HCV infection and to study the role of TEM-associated CD81 in HCV infection.