Fig. 3.

Effect of dexamethasone on TRIM28 knockdown induced ACE2 expression in A549 cells. (A-C) A549 cells were transfected with scramble or TRIM28 siRNA for 32 h and subsequently incubated with dexamethasone for another 16 h. ACE2 and TRIM28 transcripts were analyzed by using qPCR (A, B) and western blotting (C) assay. n = 3. **P < 0.01. ns. no significance. (D) Scramble and TRIM28 siRNA transfected A549 cells were treated with dexamethasone for 16 h, and then infected with LV-Spike-nCoV-Luc for another 48 h.The firefly luciferase activities were measured. n = 3. **P < 0.01. (E) The NK-92 cells were placed directly on top of A549 cell layer and co-cultured in dexamethasone containing medium for 24 h. The expression of TRIM28 was determined by qPCR method. n = 3. **P < 0.01. *P < 0.05.