Figure 1.

IRF7 knockdown by specific siRNA or chemical inhibition decreased influenza-induced innate responses in human airway BCi-NS1.1 basal cells. BCi-NS1.1 cells were transfected with IRF7 siRNA and cultured for 72 h (A) or these cells were treated with TSA (100 ng/mL), an ISGF3 inhibitor, for 16 h (B). After siRNA or TSA treatment, the cells were infected with IAV PR8 at the MOI of 0.2 for 24 h. Total RNA was extracted and mRNA expression was assessed by qRT-PCR. Transcript levels of mRNA were normalized relative to the constitutively expressed β-actin gene. (C) Cytokine protein levels released in the supernatant were assessed by ELISA. Data were expressed as the means ± SEM from three separate experiments. Statistical significance was determined by ANOVA. * denotes significant difference compared to data from the siRNA CTL+ IAV infected group, p < 0.05.