To confirm the anti-viral and neuroprotective property of the MOs observed in in vivo models, cultured neuroblastoma cells were infected with JEV, followed by MO treatment. Though the MOs are specifically developed for in vivo studies, they are also known to be taken up by cells in culture conditions [18] . There was a significant decrease in viral titer in samples obtained from the cells that were treated with 39 and 59 MOs as compared to either JEVinfected or JEV-infected and SC-MO treated cells, as revealed by plaque assay. This data was supported by FACS analysis following intracellular staining for JEV antigen.