Fig. 4.

VPA reduces ACE2 and NRP1 expression after SARS-CoV-2 infection. a Huh-7 cells were treated for 24 h with VPA at 4, 8, and 16 mM, or left untreated (control cells). They were then infected with SARS-CoV-2 (MOI 0.5) in the absence of VPA. The expression of ACE2 and NRP1 was analyzed by RT-qPCR at 24 hpi. GAPDH was used as the endogenous control and transcription levels were calculated by the 2^−ΔCT method. The results are represented as levels relative to untreated (control) cells. b Huh-7 cells were treated with VPA (8 mM) for 24 h and further infected with SARS-CoV-2 (MOI 0.5) in the absence of VPA for additional 24 h. The levels of ACE2 and NRP1 proteins were assayed and quantified by WB, using β-actin as endogenous controls. All samples were analyzed at the same time and came from the same blot. Data are represented as the mean ± SD of two independent experiments. *p < 0.05, compared with control; ^#p < 0.05, compared with SARS-CoV-2- infected cells