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. 2026 Aug 5;12(32):eaea2780. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aea2780

Fig. 4. Differential infection and induction of inflammation-related transcripts in THP-1 macrophage-like cells across SARS-CoV-2 variants and pathogenic betacoronaviruses.

Fig. 4.

(A) Relative levels of N transcripts in SARS-CoV-2–infected THP-1 macrophage-like cells expressing CD169 + ACE2 receptors. The cells were infected with the indicated SARS-CoV-2 strain/variant at an MOI of 0.1 for 24 hours. The N transcripts were quantified with RT-qPCR and compared to uninfected cells. Results were plotted into bar graphs based on 2−ΔΔCt. Data are representative of two independent experiments (ordinary one-way ANOVA; asterisks indicate statistically significant differences relative to WA1: **P < 0.01; ****P < 0.0001; nonsignificant differences are not shown). (B) Representative inflammation-related transcript expression profile induced by different SARS-CoV-2 variant infections in CD169 + ACE2–expressing THP-1 macrophage-like cells. The cells were inoculated with the indicated variant at an MOI of 0.1 for 24 hours. The expression of indicated transcripts was quantified by RT-qPCR. The relative fold changes were evaluated relative to uninfected and plotted relative to WA1. Data are representative of two independent experiments (two-way ANOVA, multiple comparisons; asterisks indicate statistically significant differences within each transcript analyzed relative to WA1: ****P < 0.0001; nonsignificant differences are not shown). (C to E) Expression of TNF, CCL4, and CXCL10 in THP-1 macrophage-like cells expressing different betacoronavirus N proteins. The cell lines were treated with doxycycline (2 μg/ml) for 48 hours to express N from the indicated coronavirus. The cells were then either untreated or stimulated with CL097 for 4 hours. Transcripts were quantified by RT-qPCR. The relative fold changes are evaluated relative to unstimulated parental cells and plotted based on 2−ΔΔCt. Data are representative of two independent experiments (two-way ANOVA, multiple comparisons; asterisks indicate statistically significant differences within each transcript analyzed relative to parental cells: *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ****P < 0.0001; nonsignificant differences are not shown).