FIGURE 7.

Inhibition of autophagy reduces extracellular flavivirus titer. A, plaque assay of Dengue-2 virus replication in MDCK renal epithelial cells with and without inhibitors of autophagy by wortmannin or 3MA demonstrates a role for autophagy in Dengue-2 replication. Inhibition of autophagy by either wortmannin or 3MA reduces viral titer by 27% at 96 hpi. B, plaque assay analysis of Modoc virus replication in MDCK cells with and without 3MA reveals a similar role for autophagy in Modoc replication. Inhibition of autophagy by 3MA leads to a 71% decline in Modoc virus replication in MDCK cells at 96 hpi. C, RT-PCR quantification of extracellular Modoc viral RNA at 96 hpi also demonstrates that autophagy inhibition by 3MA reduces replication. Note that CP value indicates number of rounds of replication to measurability, and thus lower initial levels result in higher CP values.