Finding order in the chaos of Hepatitis C Virus entry

Finding order in the chaos of Hepatitis C Virus entry

Speaker: Dr Joe Grove, University College London

Hepatitis C virus is a globally important pathogen to which no prophylactic vaccine exists. HCV entry is performed by two viral proteins, E1 and E2, current evidence suggests they are unlike any other viral entry machinery. E2 is the major target for neutralising antibodies; a molecular understanding of its mechanics will guide future vaccine design. Our work is revealing how HCV evolution tunes the conformational landscape of E2 to balance an intrinsic but antagonistic relationship between HCV entry efficiency and antibody evasion.