Fig. 5

p62 has an antiviral effect during USUV replication and modulates the ISG response. A549 cells were transfected with siRNA targeting p62 or the non-targeting pool (NTP). At 48 hpt cells were infected with USUV (MOI = 1). At 24 hpi supernatants and lysates were collected. A Knockdown of p62 was confirmed by western blot analysis. B-C Viral mRNA copies (B) and infectious progeny (C) were determined by RT-qPCR and plaque assay, respectively. Means ± standard deviation of 5 independent experiments are shown and statistical significance relative to NTP-treated cells is indicated (** p < 0.01). D-F Total RNA was isolated from the lysates and IFN-β (D), IFIT2 (E), and ISG15 (F) mRNA levels were measured by RT-qPCR. Gene expression was normalized to RPL13a and the fold change versus NTP-infected cells calculated. Means ± standard deviation of 3–4 independent experiments are shown and statistical significance relative to NTP-treated cells is indicated (* p < 0.05, **** p < 0.0001)