FIG. 3.
Effect of anti-CD81 MAbs on JFH1/HCVcc infection of primary human hepatocytes (PHH). Human hepatocytes (FT273, FT276, and FT281) were inoculated with JFH1/HCVcc at different Geq/cell ratios (0.03 and 0.1) in the absence (UT) or presence of 0.5 to 6 μg/ml of anti-CD81 MAb JS81 or JS64 added for 30 min before inoculation. Control experiments were performed under the same conditions with anti-CD9 MAbs M-L13. Following overnight exposure, cells were washed three times, and the culture was continued. Three days later, cells were washed three times, and total cellular RNA was extracted. One μg of total RNA was analyzed by real-time PCR for the genomic strand. RNA quality control was evaluated by performing a quantification of GAPDH mRNA in each sample. Amounts of HCV RNA were normalized to GAPDH mRNA. Results are expressed as a percentage of the control (UT). Data are means ± standard deviations for three independent assays. Statistical analysis and P values were obtained using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.