Figure 4

Viral NS3, NS5 and core proteins and TLR4 and TLR8 ligands induce miR-155 and TNFα in monocytes of healthy controls. A-B. Monocytes of healthy controls (n = 5) were stimulated or not with 100 ng/ml LPS (TLR4 ligand), 5ug/ml CLO75 (TLR8 ligand), 5ug/ml viral core protein, NS3 and NS5 proteins (non-structural viral proteins), and E2 (viral envelop protein) for 6-8 h. The experiment was performed in duplicates. A. Total RNA was isolated and subjected to TaqMan miRNA assay for miR-155. B&C. TNFα mRNA expression was examined by real time PCR (B) and protein levels were determined by ELISA in cell-free supernatants (C). Two-tailed t-test was used for statistical analysis.