HCVcc particles and HCV E2 glycoprotein bind to pDCs in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. Freshly isolated pDCs were exposed to HCVcc particles (A) or soluble E2 glycoprotein (B) in the presence or absence of Ca²⁺. HCVcc particles or E2 were detected with 5 μg/mL of anti-E2 mAb conjugated with Alexa-647. MOI is expressed as quantity of HCV RNA copies per pDC. Data are mean ± SEM of 3-6 independent experiments with pDCs from different donors.