Fig. 1.

NS5A induces lipid metabolic alterations in vivo. a Serum levels of ALT in the Mock group (white bar), EGFP group (gray bar), and NS5A group (black bar). b Serum levels of FFAs (left) and TG (right) in C57BL/6 J mice were assessed. c Representative H&E staining of frozen liver sections from mice treated with normal saline or recombinant lentiviral particles expressing NS5A or EGFP. d H&E-stained liver sections were evaluated for steatosis and scored as described in methods sections. e and f Effects of NS5A on lipid storage as detected by Oil Red O staining. NS5A-expressing mice showed massive lipid droplets in their liver tissues compared with EGFP-expressing mice or mice treated with normal saline. Mock: treatment with normal saline; EGFP: treatment with EGFP-expressing lentiviral particles; NS5A: treatment with NS5A-expressing lentiviral particles. H&E, hematoxylin and eosin. Original magnification: × 400, Scale bar = 100 μm; n = 12 in each group. Statistically significant differences are indicated: NS, no significance, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P <0.001