Fig 7. Identification of the roles of IL-8 and COX-2 in HCV replication.

(A) Ava5 cells were transfected with IL8-shRNA in a concentration-dependent manner (0–2 μg). After 3 days of incubation, the total cell lysates were extracted and HCV protein synthesis was analyzed by western blotting. GAPDH was used as the equal loading control. (B) Huh7 cells were transfected and treated with pCMV-NS5A-Myc, pCMV-COX-2-Myc, recombinant IL-8 protein, and PGE₂. The transfected and treated cells were incubated with or without NS398 for 3 days. The relative HCV RNA levels were analyzed using qRT-PCR. The HCV RNA level of JFH-1-infected Huh7 cells was defined as 1. Data shown are mean ± SE; n = 3. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01.