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How the antiviral immune response boosts liver fat

Nature Medicine volume 19, pages 671–672 (2013)Cite this article

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Liver steatosis is a characteristic feature of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and the virus itself is known to alter the lipid metabolism of infected hepatocytes. A recent study shows that HCV co-opts the antiviral innate immune response to stimulate the production of hepatic fat droplets, which it can then use to complete its own life cycle and spread (pages 722–729).

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Figure 1: A proposed mechanism linking the host antiviral immune response to HCV and lipid droplet formation in the liver.

Katie Vicari

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gregory Camus and Melanie Ott are at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, University of California–San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.,

    Gregory Camus & Melanie Ott

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  1. Gregory Camus
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  2. Melanie Ott
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Correspondence to Melanie Ott.

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Camus, G., Ott, M. How the antiviral immune response boosts liver fat. Nat Med 19, 671–672 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3226

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