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. 2023 Jan 16;26(2):105995. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.105995

Figure 5.

Figure 5

N protein-assisted nucleic acid dispersion and expression in the co-culture environment

(A)The co-culture system consisted of A549 as recipient cells, and 293T pre-transfected with two plasmids, one expressing GFP and the other expressing SARS-CoV-2 N protein or the pcDNA3.1 empty vector.

(B–E) After 24 h co-culture of the donor cells and recipient cells, cell pool was stained with cytokeratin 18 (an A549 marker) and SV40 large T antigen (a 293T marker). A549 cells in the cell pool were gated from cytokeratin 18 positive and large T antigen negative. A549 GFP positive percentage was further assessed by flow cytometry analysis. Effects of SARS-CoV-2 N variants (B), treatment with RANTES (C), the p38 inhibitor SB203580 (D), or anti-N neutralizing antibody (E) were accessed by adding these effectors to the medium. Experiments are performed in three to five biological replicates. ∗, p value <0.05 (paired two-tailed student’s t-test).

(F) SARS-CoV-2 N protein promotes gene delivery by cell-free diffusion to neighboring cells. A549 cells were plated in the lower chamber, while 293T donor cells co-transfected with plasmids expressing EGFP and indicated N proteins in the upper chamber. After 3 days of co-culture, GFP positive A549 cells were observed and counted. See also Figures S10 and S11.