Figure 3

HBsAg-deficient transgenic HBV mice exhibit HBV replication-dependent interferon responses.
Two-month-old transgenic HBV (HBV-s-mut) mice or HBV-negative littermates (WT) were given 200 μl of small interfering RNA (siRNA) (4 μg/g body weight) via tail vein injection. Mice were put to death 0, 2, or 10 days after injection. RNA was extracted from liver tissue and changes in gene expression of Ifnb1 (A), Isg15 (B) and Ifit1 (C) were determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Copy numbers were normalized to 100,000 copies Gapdh (mean ± SEM). Group size n = 4 animals; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; d, day; siHBV, HBxAg-targeting siRNA; siNC, non-template control siRNA; HBV-s-mut, Tg1.4HBV-S-Mut3; w/o, without treatment; WT, wild type.