Hepatitis C virus infection results in a reorganization of the expression pattern of ErbB receptor family members on its host cell

The Hepatitis C Virus is one of the leading causes for chronic liver disease. According to the WHO, there are round about 150 million people infected all over the world and more than 70% of them establish a chronic infection with ongoing viral replication. There are 3 – 4 million new infections every year, 350,000 people die annually from Hepatitis C related liver diseases and approximately 5 – 20% of all infected people develop liver cirrhosis and 1 – 5% die from liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. In most cases the disease proceeds asymptomatic over decades without being recognized, suggesting that th…