Fig. 4

a Expression of the monoclonal scFv in eukaryotic cells. WB analysis showing the transient expression of the A10, H7, B10, F9 and E1 scFvs in CHO cells 72 h after transfection with the respective recombinant pTarget plasmids. Specific bands corresponding to scFvs (about 27 kDa) are detected for all clones; other bands of higher molecular mass are present in all the lanes and are a cross-reactivity as evidenced by their presence also in CHO control lane. Molecular mass of the marker is indicated. b Controls used in the luciferase reporter gene assay. The histogram shows the effect of transfection procedures on the IFN-β promoter expression. Twenty-four hours after co-transfection with pGL IFN-β luc and pcDNA3 or pcDNA3 EBOV wtVP35 expression vectors, cells were transfected with the ctrl anti-GO scFv pTarget. The next day, cells were additionally transfected with IAV vRNA. The results from four independent experiments performed in triplicate are shown as fold induction of stimulated samples with respect to unstimulated control. c. ScFv against EBOV VP35 protein effect in the luciferase reporter gene assay. Twenty-four hours after co-transfection with pGL IFN-β luc and pcDNA3 or pcDNA3 EBOV wtVP35 expression vector, cells were additionally transfected with different scFv p Target vectors and next day additionally transfected with IAV vRNA. The results from three independent experiments are shown as a percentage of the IFNβ promoter induction. Bars indicate the mean ± SD; asterisks indicate a significant difference: **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.005 (two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test, n = 3)