title: Inhibition effect of Chinese herbal medicine on transcription of hepatitis C virus structural gene in vitro.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the inhibitory effect of Chinese herbal medicine on the transcription of hepatitis C virus (HCV) structural gene in Hela D cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hela cell line was transfected with recombinant pBK-CMV-HCV containing HCV structural gene by Lipofectamine. RT-nested-PCR and Western blot assay were used to testify the HCV gene expression in Hela cells. The Hela cells expressing HCV structural protein were named Hela D cells. Prescriptions of Xiao chaihu Decoction (XCHD), Fufang Huangqi (FFHQ) and Bingganling (BGL) were respectively added to Hela D cells in various concentrations. Semi-quantitative RT-nested-PCR product analysis was performed according to the fluorescent density between HCV DNA band and GAPDH DNA band in gel electrophoresis after screened.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Recombinant pBK-CMV-HCV could correctly express the HCV structural gene in Hela D cells. After co-culture of Hela D cells with three prescriptional different concentrations for 48 h respectively, the transcription of HCV gene decreased with increasing of the concentration of each prescription. The lightness ratio of HCV product bands to GAPDH product bands was 0.24, 0.10 and 0.12 in Hela D cells incubated with 0.1 g/mL of XCHD, FFHQ and BGL respectively and the lightness ratio HCV product bands to GAPDH product bands was 0.75, 0.67 and 0.61 respectively in the control cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prescriptions of XCHD, FFHQ and BGL partly inhibit the transcription of HCV structural gene in Hela D cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, Southeast University School of Basic Medical Science, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, China. njdoujun@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dou
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002470:Cell Survival; D017931:DNA Primers; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D006367:HeLa Cells; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins