May play a role in the formation and regulation of the tight junction (TJ) paracellular permeability barrier. It is able to induce adhesion when expressed in cells lacking tight junctions. . (Microbial infection) Acts as a coreceptor for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in hepatocytes. {ECO:0000269|PubMed:19182773, ECO:0000269|PubMed:20375010}. This is the function of OCLN (occludin, Ensembl gene identifier ENSG00000197822).