Interestingly, both MafB mRNA and protein level were negatively correlated with serum IFN-α1 expression in chronic hepatitis C patients (Spearman correlation analyses, r = −0.412, p = 0.026 and r = −0.472, p = 0.0097, respectively, Figures 2F,G). Here, IFNA1 is linked to chronic hepatitis C virus infection.