Activation of IFN is the earliest transcriptional response to viral infection, and the major antiviral effect of IFN is achieved by induction of ~300 IFN-inducible genes, which results in the direct or indirect inhibition of the virus.29 However, we found that CBFβ could not be induced after IFN-α treatment in HBV patients (Fig. 1c). This evidence concerns the gene IFNA1 and viral infectious disease.