Figure 1.

Suppression of class III PI3‐K, but not ULK1, inhibited SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. (A) Schematic diagram of autophagy induction, autophagosome, and autophagolysosome formation. (B–E) Inhibition of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection by various inhibitors targeting different steps of autophagy. VeroE6 cells were pretreated with ULK1 inhibitor SBI‐0206965 (20 µM), Vps34 inhibitor Vps34‐IN1 (10 µM), 3‐methyladenine (3‐MA) (5 mM), or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) (100 µM) for 6 h, followed by SARS‐CoV‐2 infection at MOI 0.05 for 24 and 48 h. Viral RNA in the culture supernatant was extracted and quantitated using RT‐qPCR. Percentage difference with reference to 48 h mock‐treated sample was calculated. Data were statistically analyzed by unpaired Student's t test and presented as mean ± SD. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001. MOI, multiplicity of infection; RT‐qPCR, quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction