Fig. 2

The combination of LWWL and ETV reduces hepatitis B virus replication in vivo. C57BL/6J mice were hydrodynamic injection of pAAV/HBV1.2 plasmids at a dose of 20 μg through the tail vein within a duration of 6–8 s, controls were injected with saline equivalent to 10% of the mouse’s body weight. After 3 days, blood was taken from the orbit to detect the levels of HBsAg, HBeAg and HBVDNA in the serum. Upon observing an increase in the expression of HBsAg, HBeAg, and HBV DNA in the mice, the mice injected with plasmids were divided into four groups (n = 6). These groups received treatment with saline, LWWL, ETV, and a combination of LWWL and ETV, respectively, at concentrations below the minimal liver-cytotoxic level for a period of 20 days. The control group was administered saline. The levels of serum HBeAg (A–C), HBsAg (D–F), and HBV DNA (G, H) were measured at specified time points. At the end of the 20-day period, the mice were sacrificed, and the expression of HBcAg in the liver was assessed using immunohistochemistry (D). The scale bars represent 100 μm (top row) and 20 μm (bottom row). Data are shown as mean ± SEM, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, NS: not significant (one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s post-hoc test)