Objective To study the mechanism of
signal transduction in anti-HBV action of IFN-α. Methods The HBV DNA in HepG 2.2.15
cell line supernatant with/without IFNα-2b were monitored by fluorescence real-time quantitive PCR. STAT1,STAT2,ISGF3γ,PKR, 2′5′-OAS mRNA levels from HepG 2 and HepG 2.2.15 cell lines that were
treated with/without IFNα-2b at different times were detected by semi-quantitive RT-PCR. And the ISGF3γ protein was detected by Western blot. Then, these items were detected again after inhibiting the JAK-STAT pathway with genistein.Results The HBV DNA in 2215 supernatant that were treated with IFNα-2b for 8 hours decreased 0.72 log 10 copies/ml. But the basal levels of DNA in cells pretreatred with genistein, followed by IFN-α2b did not decrease. The STAT1,STAT2,ISGF3γ,2′5′-OAS,PKR mRNA levels were upregulated by IFN-α2b. The same phenomena were observed with STAT1,STAT2,ISGF3γ mRNA when pretreated with genistein then treated with IFN-α2b,but the levels of 2′5′-OAS, PKR mRNA were decreased in this situation. The expression of the protein of ISGF3γ was also augmented by IFNα-2b,and was blocked by genistein. Conclusion The JAK-STAT pathway seems to be a critical pathway in IFNα-2b action against HBV, and ISGF3 is most probably a key factor of the route.