Fig 1. Differences in IFN-α and β induction and replication efficiency between the GI and GIII strains.

ST, bEnd.3, and DEF cells were infected with GI (SH7 and SD12) and GIII (SH15 and SH19) strains at 0.1 MOI and harvested at 24, 36, and 48 hpi for measurement of IFN-α and β production and viral replication. (A, C and E) The mRNA levels of IFN-α and β in the cell pellets were examined by qRT-PCR. (B, D and F) The concentrations of IFN-α and β proteins in the supernatants were determined by ELISA. (G, I and K) The replication titers of GI and GIII strains in the supernatants were titrated with TCID₅₀ assays in BHK cells and the significant differences between the average titers of GI and GIII strains were tested at each time point. (H, J and L) The levels of viral NS5 were examined with western blotting with anti-NS5 antibodies. All data are presented as mean ± SD from three independent experiments. ***, p < 0.001; **, p < 0.01; ns, no significant difference, by Student’s t-test.