Figure 5

Role of Mcl-1 in Sindbis infection. (A) Sindbis vector infection induces the degradation of Mcl-1. Lysates were collected from MOSEC cells infected with SV (+) or mock (-) infected. Immunoblot analysis indicates a loss of Mcl-1 expression by 16 h.p.i. (B) MOSEC cells transfected with Mcl-1 vector overexpress the protein. Cells transfected with Mcl-1 or GFP control vector were infected at 48 hours post transfection. At 24 h.p.i. lysates were collected and subjected to western blotting for Mcl-1. In A and B immunoblots were stripped and reprobed with β actin for loading control. (C) Mcl-1 overexpression protects the cells from Sindbis-induced loss of viability. MOSEC cells were transfected with Mcl-1 or GFP transfected. At 48 hours cells were infected with Sindbis vector. 24 h.p.i. cell viability was assessed. Data in C represents the SEM (error bars) of three experiments. Each sample was compared to the infected control at the same time point. Statistical significance was calculated by a two-tailed student t-test (** P < 0.005).