Interferon α and ribavirin on hepatitis C virus replication
YANG Meng1; HE Sheng-Fei2; REN Hao2; ZHAO Lan-Juan2; QI Zhong-Tian2
1. No. 10 Cadets Company, Graduate Administration Division, Second Military Medical University，Shanghai 200433, China；2. Department of Microbiology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Biodefense, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
Abstract：The current standard therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection consists of a combination of interferon α(IFN-α) and ribavirin. In this study, the effects of IFN-α and ribavirin on HCV replication as well as antiviral genes were examined. The results showed that 100 u/ml IFN-α significantly reduced HCV RNA levels. Ribavirin inhibited HCV replication in a dose-dependent manner and ribavirin in combination with IFN-α exhibited synergetic inhibitory effect on HCV replication, and NS3 and E2 protein expression. IFN-α increased the levels of IFN regulatory factor 9 (IRF9) and IFN-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) in a dose-dependent manner. However, 1 and 5 μg/ml ribavirin had no such effects on the IRF9 and ISG15 induction.
