Concomitantly to autophagy activation in MERS-CoV-MA-Δ4b infection, a significant decrease in the pro-inflammatory response was observed in MRC5 cells, including the expression of IFN-ß, NF-kB dependent cytokines (IL-6 and IL-8) and chemokines (CCL2 and CXCL10) (Fig 4) [38]. Here, IL6 is linked to infection.