Fig 8.

cb-N-Apt17 inhibits the replication of major SARS-CoV-2 trVLP variants. (a) Inhibition of trVLP-WT-N infection (0.5 MOI (Multiplicity of Infection)) by cb-N-Apt17 in Caco2 cells. Different concentrations of cb-N-Apt17 (0 nM, 10 nM, and 50 nM) were transfected into Caco2 cells that overexpressed N-WT (the original strain N protein). Subsequently, microscopic images were captured after infecting the cells with trVLP for a duration of 12 hours. Scale bars: 50 µm. (b) Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 trVLP copies present in the cell supernatant using QRT-PCR. The replication of trVLP-WT-N in Caco2 cells was significantly inhibited upon treatment with cb-N-Apt17 (50 nM) at both 6 and 12 hours post infection. (c) Similarly, replication of trVLP-Delta-N in Caco2 cells was also significantly hindered when treated with cb-N-Apt17 (50 nM) at both 6 and 12 hours post infection. (d) Furthermore, the replication of trVLP-Omicron-N in Caco2 cells was substantially suppressed by cb-N-Apt17 (50 nM) at both 6 and 12 hours post infection. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.