Figure 2.

SARS-CoV-2 Nsp14 increases IL-6/8 expression. (A) HEK293T cells were transfected with V5-FLAG-Nsp14 or empty vector were un-treated or treated with TNF-α for 24h. The mRNA level of IL-6 and IL-8 in these cells was measured and normalized to the untreated, empty vector-transfected group. (B) A549 cells were treated similarly as in (A) and analyzed for IL-6 and IL-8 mRNA expression. (C) Protein level of Nsp14, phosphate, and total NF-κB p65, as well as IL-8, in A549 cells transfected with or without FLAG-V5-Nsp14 +/- TNF-α was measured by immunoblotting. Results were calculated from at least 3 independent experiments and presented as mean +/- standard error of the mean (SEM). (* p<0.05; ** p<0.01; by unpaired Student’s t-test).