Fig. 4: SARS-CoV-2 exposure induces reactive oxygen species production and decreases barrier function of hPSC-derived ECs.

A ECs were mock-infected or exposed to live or heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 for 48 hours (MOI = 1). CellROX green reagent was added at a final concentration of 5 μM, incubated for 30 minutes, and cells were analyzed by fluorescence microscopy. Green fluorescent signal showed the ROS-mediated oxidation of the reagent. The fluorescence intensity was measured for five cells for each condition for three independent experiments. For each experiment, the value plotted is the average fold change in florescence intensity relative to mock-infected cells for that experiment. Conditions were compared using a one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test, with a single pooled variance. B Representative images of CellRox staining at 48 hours post-infection from a single experiment (Scale bar = 50 µm). C Transcytosis of FITC–tagged 10-kDa dextran across a monolayer hPSC-derived ECs. ECs were plated in transwells and infected with SARS-CoV-2 (MOI = 1) or mock-infected for 48 hours. FITC-dextran was added to the upper chamber and the fluorescence intensity of media the lower chamber was quantitated four hours after FITC-dextran addition. Three independent experiments were performed. All results are expressed as a fold change relative to the average value for mock-infected ECs. Conditions were compared using an unpaired t-test.