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Leborgne NG, Devisme C, Kozarac N, Berenguer Veiga I, Ebert N, Godel A, Grau-Roma L, Scherer M, Plattet P, Thiel V, Zimmer G, Taddeo A, Benarafa C. Neutrophil proteases are protective against SARS-CoV-2 by degrading the spike protein and dampening virus-mediated inflammation. JCI Insight 2024; 9:e174133. [PMID: 38470488 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.174133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Studies on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have highlighted the crucial role of host proteases for viral replication and the immune response. The serine proteases furin and TMPRSS2 and lysosomal cysteine proteases facilitate viral entry by limited proteolytic processing of the spike (S) protein. While neutrophils are recruited to the lungs during COVID-19 pneumonia, little is known about the role of the neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs) cathepsin G (CatG), elastase (NE), and proteinase 3 (PR3) on SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication. Furthermore, the current paradigm is that NSPs may contribute to the pathogenesis of severe COVID-19. Here, we show that these proteases cleaved the S protein at multiple sites and abrogated viral entry and replication in vitro. In mouse models, CatG significantly inhibited viral replication in the lung. Importantly, lung inflammation and pathology were increased in mice deficient in NE and/or CatG. These results reveal that NSPs contribute to innate defenses against SARS-CoV-2 infection via proteolytic inactivation of the S protein and that NE and CatG limit lung inflammation in vivo. We conclude that therapeutic interventions aiming to reduce the activity of NSPs may interfere with viral clearance and inflammation in COVID-19 patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Gf Leborgne
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
| | - Christelle Devisme
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
| | - Nedim Kozarac
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences
| | - Inês Berenguer Veiga
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
| | - Nadine Ebert
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
| | - Aurélie Godel
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
| | | | - Melanie Scherer
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences
- Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, and
| | - Philippe Plattet
- Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, and
- Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (MCID), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Volker Thiel
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
- Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (MCID), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Gert Zimmer
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
| | - Adriano Taddeo
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
| | - Charaf Benarafa
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty
- Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (MCID), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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