Figure 5

Effects of autophagic stimulation on ChikV infection. (A) HEK.293 cells were pretreated with the inducer of autophagy Rapamycin (Rapa) (1 μM) for 2 hours before challenge with ChikV (MOI = 1) or left untreated (Ct). Infected cells were detected by immunofluorescence detection of E1 glycoprotein. Nuclei were stained with DAPI. Magnification = 200× (B) Quantitative analysis of ChikV infected cells in cultures maintained in the presence of medium alone (Ct) or supplemented with Rapamycin (Rapa). (C) Cultures analyzed in (B) were subjected to qRT-PCR quantification of viral RNA present in cell culture supernatant. (D). Expression levels of ChikV structural proteins in HEK.293 infected cells maintained in the presence or absence of Rapamycin was determined by Western blot analysis. Results are expressed as mean values of three independent experiments +/- standard deviations.