Fig. 4

Viral hijacking of lipid rafts. During viral infection, most viruses utilize lipid rafts where receptors are concentrated in various stages of their replication. Lipid rafts enriched with receptors facilitate the attachment and entry of the virus either by membrane fusion or endocytosis. Additionally, lipid rafts play important roles in the assembly of some viruses, e.g., HCV. Finally, lipid rafts facilitate viral egress by budding some viruses, e.g., HIV-1. On the other hand, drugs that actively disrupt the lipid raft structure play a significant role in reducing viral infectivity