Panel 50. The hijacking of lipid droplets by the Hepatitis C virus to ensure its formation and exit mechanisms from the cell is not without clinical consequence for people chronically infected with this virus. HCV is indeed capable of inducing an increase in the number and size of the lipid droplets contained in infected cells. This accumulation of numerous and sometimes giant lipid droplets in the liver cells leads to a pathology called liver steatosis. This strong accumulation of lipids inside the liver cells induces a liver dysfunction which contributes to the acceleration of the disease in patients chronically infected with HCV.