Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections continue to be a major contributor to liver disease worldwide. HCV treatment has become highly effective, yet there are still no vaccines or prophylactic strategies available to prevent infection and allow effective management of the global HCV burden. Glycan-dependent interactions are crucial to many aspects of the highly complex HCV entry process, and also modulate immune evasion. This review provides an overview of the roles of viral and cellular glycans in HCV infection and highlights glycan-focused advances in the development of entry inhibitors and vaccines to effectively prevent HCV infection.
Keywords: glycans; hepatitis C virus; prophylaxis; vaccines; viral entry.