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. 2011 Oct 11;6(10):e25419. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0025419

Figure 3. PCBP2 enhances the antiviral activity of IFN-α against HCV.

Figure 3

R1b cells were transfected with pcDEF-PCBP2 or PCBP2 siRNA. 48 hours after transfection, the cells were treated with 100 IU/mL IFN-α, 200 µM ribavirin or a combination of the two, for 12 hours. Western blotting was used to check the overexpression or knockdown of PCBP2. qRT-PCR was performed to measure the HCV RNA level in the treated cells. (A) Overexpression of PCBP2 alone did not have an impact on the HCV RNA level (P = 0.13). (B) Overexpression of PCBP2 enhanced the inhibitory effects of IFN-α against HCV but did not influence the antiviral effect of ribavirin. (C) Knockdown of PCBP2 alone did not have an impact on HCV RNA level (P = 0.28). (D) Knockdown of PCBP2 impaired the inhibition effect of IFN-α against HCV but did not influence the antiviral effect of ribavirin. Each bar represents the average of triplicate data points with the standard deviation represented as the error bar. *P<0.05 versus negative control.