Fig. 7: SARS-CoV-2 infection of SMCs increases tissue factor expression and activity. | Nature Communications

Fig. 7: SARS-CoV-2 infection of SMCs increases tissue factor expression and activity.

From: SARS-CoV-2 infection of human pluripotent stem cell-derived vascular cells reveals smooth muscle cells as key mediators of vascular pathology during infection

Fig. 7

A SMCs were infected with SARS-CoV-2 for 48 hours (MOI = 1) and stained with antibodies against dsRNA and tissue factor. Staining of actin with phalloidin was included to mark cell bodies. B Immunofluorescence staining for tissue factor in hPSC-derived SMCs exposed to either live or heat-inactivated (HI) SARS-CoV-2 or uninfected control hPSC-derived SMCs. Cells were fixed at 48 hours post-infection. Scale bar = 200 µm. The experiment was performed three times with similar results. C Quantitation of tissue factor staining shown in (B). Bar graph shows mean value, and error bar shows 95% confidence interval. Conditions were compared using a one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test, with a single pooled variance. DTissue factor activity in cell lysate from SMCs exposed to live SARS-CoV-2 or HI SARS-CoV-2 (MOI = 1) for 48 hours was quantitated by ELISA and is reported as a percent increase compared to control uninfected SMCs. Scale bar = 50 µm for all immunofluorescence images. Activity levels were analyzed for three independent experiments for live SARS-CoV-2 treatment and five independent experiments for HI SARS-CoV-2. Levels were normalized to the average value for control SMCs for that experiment. Bar graph shows mean value, and error bar shows 95% confidence interval. Each condition was compared to 100% activity for control SMCs using a one sample t-test.

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