Fig 4.

Mice infected with RVFVmiR-122 had self-limiting liver disease due to restricted viral replication in the liver. (A) Viral RNA loads in the liver, brain, and spleen of mice infected with either RVFVmiR-184 (n = 6) or RVFVmiR-122 (n = 10) at 3 or 4 dpi. Open triangle represents one mouse euthanized at 4 dpi without showing any symptoms. Dotted line indicates LOD of qRT-PCR. Multiple unpaired t-tests were performed for statistical analysis. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. (B) Examples of liver tissue staining by H&E or IHC probing for RVFV N protein imaged with 10× objective. Insets of indicated areas were imaged with 20× objective. (C) Western blots of liver tissue homogenates from mice either uninfected or infected with RVFVmiR-184 or RVFVmiR-122 probing for RVFV proteins and actin. (D) Levels of selected IFNs and ISGs in the liver tissues of mice euthanized in (A) were measured by RT followed by qPCR and normalized to GAPDH control gene. Expression fold change of each IFN or ISG in infected mice was normalized to the mean of expression fold change of that IFN or ISG in uninfected mice.