Autophagy in HCV Replication and Protein Trafficking

Autophagy is a catabolic process that is important for maintaining cellular homeostasis. It is also known to possess other functions including protein trafficking and anti-microbial activities. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is known to co-opt cellular autophagy pathway to promote its own replication. HCV regulates autophagy through multiple mechanisms to control intracellular protein and membrane trafficking to enhance its replication and suppress host innate immune response. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge on the interplay between HCV and autophagy and the crosstalk between HCV-induced autophagy and host innate immune responses.

Automated summary

HCV utilizes cellular autophagy pathway to promote its replication, regulating autophagy through various mechanisms to control intracellular protein and membrane trafficking, thereby enhancing replication and suppressing host innate immune responses.