HCV genotype 1a VLPs were produced by transducing a human hepatocyte-derived cell line with recombinant adenovirus containing encoding the HCV structural proteins (core, E1 and E2) of genotype 1a to produce particles that harbour antigenic resemblance to virions produced in an infected host cell. Because of the essential role that DCs play in the induction of both humoral and cell-mediated responses, we first examined the ability of a spleen-derived DC line (D1 cells) to take up fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled HCV VLPs (FITC-VLPs). Flow cytometric analysis revealed that DCs incubated with FITC-VLPs exhibited higher whole cell fluorescence intensities compared to untreated DCs indicating the presence of cell-associated VLPs ( Figure 1B) . Exposure of DCs to VLPs pre-mixed with the lipopeptide E 8 Pam 2 Cys also resulted in higher levels of cell fluorescence compared to untreated DCs. The percentage of fluorescenated cells in these cultures was similar to cultures that contained FITC-VLPs alone ( Figure 1C) .