Figure 2.

gal‐9 induction is independent of IFN‐γ or infectious HCV particles. (A) CD14^pos monocytes (5 × 10⁵) were incubated with JFH‐1 HCV virions (MOI 0.1) for 4 d in triplicate. gal‐9 mRNA was quantified by use of real‐time PCR with a standard curve; P values are calculated with a 2‐tailed t‐test. (B) CD14^pos monocytes from 3 normal donors were incubated in triplicate with an anti‐IFN‐γ‐neutralizing antibody or an isotype control throughout a 4‐d coculture with uninfected or HCV‐infected hepatocytes. gal‐9 mRNA levels were determined by quantitative real‐time PCR by use of a gal‐9 standard curve. The positive control IFN‐γ was used at a concentration of 25 ng/ml with uninfected Huh 7.5 cells, with or without an IFN‐γ blocking antibody. Pooled data are shown with means and sem, and P values are calculated by use of a 2‐tailed Mann‐Whitney test.