*8.2. Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)*

HCV belongs to the *Flaviviridae* family, has marked tropism for liver parenchymal cells, and chronic HCV infection leads to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [227,232,257]. ABCA1 was found to have low expression levels in hepatocellular carcinoma samples from patients with a history of HCV infection [257]. Consistently, HCV infection was found to increase miR-27a expression in vitro. This miRNA binds to the 3 ′UTR sequence of *ABCA1* mRNA decreasing ABCA1 protein levels [258]. These events increase cellular cholesterol content and promote virus replication [232,259]. Furthermore, pharmacologically-induced *ABCA1* gene expression caused lipid raft reorganization in human hepatocytes, inhibiting HCV infection [227].
