Figure 4.

Hemin dose-dependently inhibits HCV replication. (A) Hemin inhibits luciferase reporter gene activity in Huh7.5-HCV cells. Cells were subcultured at a density of 4×10⁵ cells/well in 1 ml of culture medium in a 12-well plastic dish for 6 h. Hemin or DMSO was added to the medium for 24 h. The cells were lysed and cell lysates were prepared for the Renilla luciferase assay. (B) Effect of hemin on the expression of HO-1 and HCV proteins is shown. Cells were subcultured at a density of 1.5×10⁶ cells in 8 ml of culture medium in a 10-cm plastic dish for 6 h. Hemin or DMSO was added to the medium for 24 h. Total protein was isolated and analyzed by western blot analysis. The experiments were repeated three times.