Fig. 1

SARS-CoV-2 differently affects SNCA mRNA expression and α-syn protein levels at 24 and 48 h post-infection in A549-hACE2 and CaLu-3 epithelial lung cells. A qPCR-based relative quantification of SNCA mRNA in Mock- and SARS-CoV-2-infected cells (MOI 0.05), either in the presence or absence of exogenous IFN-β, 24 and 48 h post-infection. Results are shown as mean ± SEM from n = 3 independent experiments. Statistical analysis was performed by applying Two-way ANOVA, followed by multiple testing correction. To avoid graphs overcrowding, p values are shown for statistically significant groups of interest only. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. B and C Representative immunofluorescence images for SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) and α-syn proteins in Mock- and SARS-CoV-2-infected (MOI 0.05) in A549-hACE2 (B) and CaLu-3 (C) epithelial lung cells 24 and 48 h post-infection, in the absence (CTR) or presence of IFN-β. Cells were fixed in 4% Formaldehyde solution for 15 min and permeabilized with 0.1% of Triton X-100 for 15 min. Images are representative of n = 3 independent experiments. Bars correspond to 20 μm