Fig. 3
From: Dysregulation of intracellular redox homeostasis by the SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 protein
Cellular antioxidant response is induced by ORF6 at the transcriptional level. The effects of SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 protein, wt or mutated forms, on cellular antioxidant modulation are evaluated at the transcriptional level in (A) HEK-293T and (B) A549 cells. Total RNA is purified from empty plasmid (Ctr-) or ORF6-transfected cells collected at 24 h post-transfection. Specific Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) and Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) mRNA levels are detected by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‒qPCR). 18S gene expression is used for relative quantification based on the 2−ΔΔCt method. Data are expressed as mean values ± standard deviations (SD) of at least three (n ≥ 3) independent experiments, each performed in duplicate. Significance is determined with respect to the negative control (Ctr-), transfected with empty plasmid, sample as **p < 0.005; *p < 0.05