Figure 4. Pharmacological modulation of autophagy. (A) Electron microscopy analysis of PBMC from NP and LTNP treated with the autophagy inducer rapamycin, and the autophagy inhibitor bafilomycin A₁. Arrows indicate AV containing undigested material. (B) Electron microscopy quantification of the percentage of cells containing AV in HD, NP, and LTNP. (C) Quantitative analysis of the average number of AV per cell in HD, NP, and LTNP. (D) WB analysis of LC3-II protein. In the graph were reported the mean values of 4 different experiments. (E) Changes in HIV RNA release in culture supernatants of NP and LTNP PBMC, after in vitro treatment with autophagy modulators rapamycin and bafilomycin A₁. The difference in HIV RNA concentration between untreated and rapamycin- or bafilomycin A₁-treated PBMC was calculated for each sample and reported in the figure. Original magnification: (A) 12.000×. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.