Fig 3.

SARS-CoV replication is not affected by induction of autophagy in Vero E6 cells. (A) LC3-II signal in Vero E6 cells upon MG132 treatment. Vero E6 cells were treated with DMSO, 2.5 μM MG132, or 10 μM imatinib for 16 h. Equal amounts of total protein were subjected to SDS-PAGE, and LC3-I and -II signals were determined using an anti-LC3 antibody. Actin was used as a loading control (upper panel). (B) Fold induction of LC3-II upon treatment. Values represent the means ± SEM of one experiment performed in triplicate. (C) SARS-CoV replication upon MG132 and imatinib treatment. Vero E6 cells were pretreated with DMSO (mock), 2.5 μM MG132, or 10 μM imatinib for 1 h and were inoculated with SARS-CoV (MOI, 0.001) with FCS-free media containing the compounds. After removal of inocula, cells were further cultivated in growth medium containing FCS and compounds for 16 h before viral supernatants were collected. Viral titers were determined by plaque assay and are shown as PFU/ml. Values represent the means ± SEM of two independent experiments performed in duplicate.