Pre-stimulation of astrocytes with poly(dA:dT) resulted in similar levels of upregulation of IFN-β mRNA in both astrocyte cell types, with a greater upregulation of IFN-β seen in poly(dA:dT) pre-treated cells compared with ZIKV infection alone; however, pre-stimulation followed by ZIKV infection was not able to further upregulate IFN-β mRNA. The gene discussed is IFNB1; the disease is Zika virus infectious disease.