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Background
EPHA2(ephrin type-A receptor 2) also known as ECK, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EPHA2 gene. This gene belongs to the ephrin receptor subfamily of the protein-tyrosine kinase family. Receptors in the EPH subfamily typically have a single kinase domain and an extracellular region containing a Cys-rich domain and 2 fibronectin type III repeats. By somatic cell hybrid analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization, the EPHA2 gene is mapped to chromosome 1p36.1. By screening a HeLa cell cDNA library with degenerate oligonucleotides based on highly conserved regions of receptor protein-tyrosine kinases, Lindberg and Hunter isolated cDNAs encoding EPHA2, which they called ECK. EPHA2 was readily detectable in human lens fiber cells using immunoblot and immunohistochemistry. EGFR and EPHA2 mediated HCV entry by regulating CD81 -claudin-1 (CLDN1) coreceptor associations and viral glycoprotein-dependent membrane fusion.