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. 2023 Aug 7;32:100675. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2023.100675

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

Meditation induces the expression of bloodborne factors that protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection. a, Schematic representation of SARS-CoV-2.SD19-RFP pseudovirus construction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of virion. b, Human lung cells (A-549) and mouse muscle cells (C2C12) 24 h after exposure to SARS-CoV-2.SD19-RFP. c, Representative immunofluorescence images of A549 cells 24 h after exposure to pseudovirus. Negative control represents vehicle only while positive control cells were exposed to pseudovirus (upper panels). Lower panels represent cells pre-treated with either experienced pre- (left panel) or post- (right panel) meditation plasma prior to addition of pseudovirus. Red, red fluorescent protein (RFP); Blue, Hoechst 33342. Scale bars, 50 μm d, Scanning EM (SEM) (upper and middle panels) and TEM (lower panels) images of A549 cells treated with post-meditation plasma from control, novice, or experienced meditators, followed by addition of pseudovirus. e, Quantification of red fluorescence intensity in A549 cells treated with control, novice, or experienced pre- and post-meditation plasma followed by addition of pseudovirus. Two-tailed analysis, Mann-Whitney post-test (control n= 21, novice n= 45, experienced n= 43) was performed (*p < 0.05). f-g, Correlation of sex with red fluorescence intensity in A549 cells treated with control, novice, or experienced pre- and post-meditation male (f) and female (g) plasma followed by addition of pseudovirus. Two-tailed analysis, Mann-Whitney post-test (control n= 8 male, 13 female; novice n= 23 male, 22 female; experienced n= 17 male, 26 female) was performed (*p < 0.05). h, Pre-post correlation of red fluorescence intensity with age in A549 cells treated with control, novice, or experienced meditation plasma. A positive pre-post value is indicative of a positive correlation of age and protection from pseudoviral infectivity, while a negative pre-post value demonstrates a negative correlation. Two-tailed analysis, Mann-Whitney post-test (control n= 20, novice n= 44, experienced n= 43) was performed (*p < 0.05). i-k, A549 cells were pre-treated with heat-inactivated (i) or ultra-centrifuged plasma supernatant (j) or pellet (k) from control, novice, or experienced meditators pre- and post-meditation, followed by addition of pseudovirus. Cells were fixed and stained 24 h after addition of pseudovirus. Two-tailed analysis, Mann-Whitney post-test was performed (*p < 0.05). Blue dots, pre-meditation; red dots, post-meditation. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)