Peer-review started: June 30, 2016
First decision: August 10, 2016
Revised: September 10, 2016
Accepted: November 1, 2016
Article in press: November 2, 2016
Published online: January 8, 2017
Processing time: 191 Days and 9.2 Hours
Core tip: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection leads to liver cirrhosis and cancer. HCV infection modulates the lipid metabolism. Phosphoinositides are minor phospholipids that are also modified by HCV infection. phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns)(3,4,5)P3 is mainly formed by phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and can be dephosphorylated by SH2-containing inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase (SHIP2) to generate PtdIns(3,4)P2. In this review, we will discuss the effects of SHIP2 and PI3K on the formation of cell polarity and how their expression and activation are modulated by HCV infection, leading to the disruption of cell polarity. This pathway is also discussed in the event of insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease related to HCV infection.
