Figure 4
Expression of various cytokines and chemokines in 3CLpro transfected A549 cells using RT-PCR. (A) Total RNAs were harvested at 12, 24, 48 and 72 hrs. RT-PCR was performed to detect the expression of various cytokines and chemokines including IL-1β (343 bp), IL-6 (403 bp), IL-8 (471 bp), IL12p40 (239 bp), TNF-α (288 bp), TGF-β (148 bp), GM-CSF (195 bp). GAPDH was used as control. A549 cells were used as the background. (B) Expression of GM-CSF in 3CLpro transfected A549 cells using RT-PCR. Total RNA was harvested at 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hrs. RT-PCR was performed to detect the mRNA expression of GM-CSF (277 bp). GAPDH was used to normalize the cell number (307 bp). There were marked decreases of GM-CSF in 3CLpro transfected A549 cells after 24 hrs (*; p < 0.05). A549 cells were used as the background. C, A549 cells; E, EGFP transfected cells; 3CLpro, 3CLpro transfected cells.