Rab13 is involved in the entry step of hepatitis C virus infection

Membrane transport probably participates in the lifecycle of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Rab proteins are essential host factors for HCV RNA replication, but these proteins' roles in other steps of the HCV lifecycle are not clear. The tight junction (TJ) plays a key role in HCV infection. Rab13 regulates the endocytic recycling of the TJ-associated proteins. Here we investigated whether Rab13 is involved in the HCV entry step. We used HuH-7-derived RSc cells and Li23-derived D7 cells. To evaluate the effect of Rab13 in HCV infection, we transfected the cells with siRNA targeting Rab13 before HCV infection. The down-regulation of Rab13 inhibited HCV infection. The D7 cells had showed a greater inhibitory effect against HCV infection compared to that in the RSc cells by Rab13 knockdown. Next, to evaluate the effect of Rab13 after infection, we inoculated the cells with HCV before transfection of the siRNA. The down-regulation of Rab13 did not show any effects after HCV infection. We further examined whether Rab13 would influence HCV RNA replication by using HCV replicon-harboring cells. The results revealed that Rab13 did not affect the step of HCV RNA replication. These results suggest that Rab13 plays an important role in the step of HCV entry.