HIV‐1 exposure and immune activation enhance sexual transmission of Hepatitis C virus by primary Langerhans cells

Introduction The significant rise in incidence of Hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) infection among men‐who‐have‐sex‐with‐men ( MSM ) living with HIV ‐1 suggests that HCV under specific circumstances is transmitted via sexual contact. During sexual transmission HCV has to cross the epithelial barrier to either directly enter the blood stream or indirectly via mucosal immune cells. However, the mechanisms of sexual transmission of HCV remain unclear. We...