Figure 4

IL-6 does not suppress the levels of secreted HBeAg and HBsAg. Confluent cells were treated for 6 days with various doses of IL-6 (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 ng/ml). (A) The level of extracellular viral genome-containing nucleocapsids in the culture medium was measured by real-time PCR method and normalized with total cell number. (B and C) The levels of secreted HBeAg and HBsAg in the culture medium were measured by ELISA. Results shown are representative of three independent experiments.