Contribution of type I interferon response in the regulation of sterol biosynthesis genes upon infection.

(A–C) Wild type BMDM or BMDM from IFNβ−/− knockout mice or from IFNAR1−/− knockout mice were mock treated, infected with mCMV, or treated with IFNβ (10 U/ml) for 24 h. RNA was collected and the gene expression of Hmgcs1, Hmgcr, Idi1, and Sqle was measured by qRT-PCR. Graphs show the level of expression of the indicated genes relative to mock-treated samples. Bars represent the mean ± SD of biological quadruplicates. (D) Wild type BMDM or BMDM from IFNAR1−/− knockout mice were infected with mCMV or treated with IFNβ (10 U/ml). After 48 h, free cholesterol concentration was measured by enzymatic assay (Materials and Methods). Bars represent the mean ± SD of biological quadruplicates. *pppt test.