Some hepatitis C viral glycoproteins may attach to C-type lectins on the host cell surface (liver cells) to initiate infection. To avoid clearance from the body by the innate immune system, pathogens (e.g., virus particles and bacteria that infect human cells) often express surface lectins known as adhesins and hemagglutinins that bind to tissue-specific glycans on host cell-surface glycoproteins and glycolipids. Multiple viruses, including influenza and several viruses in the Paramyxoviridae family, use this mechanism to bind and gain entry to target cells.