Fig. 4

In HUVECS, absence of productive SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with α-syn accumulation. A Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 replication in HUVECs in the absence and presence of α-syn and IFN-β (MOI 1). Results are shown as mean ± SEM from n = 4 independent experiments. Data were analyzed by applying Two-Way ANOVA. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. B In the absence of productive viral replication, overall α-syn immunostaining in HUVECs is not decreased by either SARS-CoV-2 infection or the addition of exogenous α-syn monomers. Representative immunofluorescence images for SARS-CoV-2-Nucleocapsid (N), and α-syn in Mock- and SARS-CoV-2-Infected HUVECs 72 h post-infection (MOI 1), in the absence and presence of IFN-β, or exogenous α-syn monomers. Cells were fixed for 15 min in Formaldehyde solution, followed by 15 min permeabilization with 0.1% Triton X-100. Bars correspond to 20 μm. C In HUVECs, absence of productive SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with the occurrence of juxtanuclear α-syn foci. 3D reconstruction of immunofluorescence images for SARS-CoV-2-Nucleocapsid (N), and α-syn proteins in Mock- and SARS-CoV-2-Infected HUVECs 72 h post-infection (MOI 1) shows the presence of juxtanuclear α-syn foci (arrows) which are induced by SARS-CoV-2 and potentiated by IFN-β and exogenous α-syn monomers