Niemann-Pick C1 maintains cholesterol homeostasis in late endosomes to drive hepatitis B virus endosomal escape - PubMed
3 days ago
- #cholesterol homeostasis
- #HBV entry
- #endosomal trafficking
- NPC1, a late endosomal cholesterol transporter, is a novel host factor promoting HBV escape into the cytoplasm by maintaining cholesterol homeostasis in late endosomes.
- NPC1 knockdown significantly reduces HBV susceptibility and causes viral retention in late endosomes with cholesterol accumulation, without impairing transcription or replication.
- Cholesterol transport-defective NPC1 mutant fails to restore infection, while cholesterol efflux rescues viral release, and pharmacological NPC1 inhibition potently blocks HBV infection.