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Xiang Q, Wu J, Zhou Y, Li L, Tian M, Li G, Zhang Z, Fu Y. SARS-CoV-2 Membrane protein regulates the function of Spike by inhibiting its plasma membrane localization and enzymatic activity of Furin. Microbiol Res 2024; 282:127659. [PMID: 38430890 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2024.127659] [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: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
The presence of a multibasic cleavage site in the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 makes it prone to be cleaved by Furin at the S1/S2 junction (aa. 685-686), which enhances the usage of TMPRSS2 to promote cell-cell fusion to form syncytia. Syncytia may contribute to pathology by facilitating viral dissemination, cytopathicity, immune evasion, and inflammation. However, the role of other SARS-CoV-2 encoding viral proteins in syncytia formation remains largely unknown. Here, we report that SARS-CoV-2 M protein effectively inhibits syncytia formation triggered by Spike or its variants (Alpha, Delta, Omicron, etc.) and prevents Spike cleavage into S1 and S2 based on a screen assay of 20 viral proteins. Mechanistically, M protein interacts with Furin and inhibits its enzymatic activity, preventing the cleavage of Spike. In addition, M interacts with Spike independent of its cytoplasmic tail, retaining it within the cytoplasm and reducing cell membrane localization. Our findings offer new insights into M protein's role in regulating Spike's function and underscore the importance of functional interplay among viral proteins, highlighting potential avenues for SARS-CoV-2 therapy development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Xiang
- School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
| | - Jie Wu
- School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
| | - Yuzheng Zhou
- Institute for Hepatology, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518112, China
| | - Linhao Li
- School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
| | - Miao Tian
- School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
| | - Guobao Li
- Department of Tuberculosis, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518112, China.
| | - Zheng Zhang
- Institute for Hepatology, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518112, China.
| | - Yang Fu
- School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China.
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Fukazawa T, Obata H, Matsuoka S, Usui S, Norisuye K. Determination of ultra-trace Te species in open ocean waters based on Mg(OH) 2 coprecipitation, anion exchange resin column separation and inductively coupled plasma sector-field mass spectrometry using a 125Te-enriched isotope spike. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1300:342430. [PMID: 38521568 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342430] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
We present a method for the determination of ultra-trace Te species (Te(IV) and Te(VI)) in open ocean waters. The proposed method is based on Mg(OH)2 coprecipitation, anion exchange resin column separation and inductively coupled plasma sector-field mass spectrometry (ICPSFMS) using a 125Te-enriched isotope spike. The largest advantage of the method is that the use of the spike allows accurate and precise determination when it combines with either isotope dilution or recovery correction. Tellurium-IV and VI are preconcentrated in a Mg(OH)2 precipitate and separated mutually by an anion exchange resin column. Te(IV) is retained to the column, while Te(VI) passing through the column is recovered by a subsequent column procedure after reduction of Te(VI) to Te(IV). Te(IV) is successfully eluted with a small amount of 0.01 M HCl. The additional merit of using this eluent is elimination of components that result in a memory effect during the measurement of Te(IV). Possible mass spectral interference on Te(IV) can be excluded by adjusting the mass window, and the Te(IV) concentrations determined by this approach agree well with those independently obtained by an oxidation procedure which removes the interference. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified with homemade standard seawater for which the measured concentrations agree well with results calculated from the value of the standard solution. Procedural blanks for Te(IV) and Te(VI) are 1.5 ± 0.9 pg kg-1 (n = 11) and 1.3 ± 0.9 pg kg-1 (n = 11) with corresponding overall detection limits of 3.0 pg kg-1 and 2.8 pg kg-1, respectively. Using the method, we have clarified vertical profiles of Te(IV) and Te(VI) in the subarctic western North Pacific for the first time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tohru Fukazawa
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, 8050, Ikarashi 2-no-cho, Nishi-ku, Niigata 950-2181, Japan.
| | - Hajime Obata
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan
| | - Shiro Matsuoka
- Faculty of Science, Niigata University, 8050, Ikarashi 2-no-cho, Nishi-ku, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan
| | - Satoshi Usui
- Faculty of Science, Niigata University, 8050, Ikarashi 2-no-cho, Nishi-ku, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro Norisuye
- Faculty of Science, Niigata University, 8050, Ikarashi 2-no-cho, Nishi-ku, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan
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Lee J, Naoe Y, Bang U, Nakagama Y, Saito A, Kido Y, Hotta A. Neutralization sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants FL.1 and GE.1 by therapeutic antibodies and XBB sera. Virology 2024; 595:110067. [PMID: 38653156 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2024.110067] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Two SARS-CoV-2 XBB sub-variants, FL.1 and GE.1, have been increasing in prevalence worldwide, but limited information is available about their ability to evade the immune system. FL.1 and GE.1 are emerging Omicron XBB variants possessing additional mutations in the spike RBD raising concerns of increased neutralization escape. In this study, we assessed the neutralizing ability of eleven FDA-approved monoclonal antibody combinations against different Omicron variants, including BA.2.75, BA.2.76, BA.4/5, XBB.1.5, and CH.1.1. Among the eleven antibodies, Sotrovimab was the only antibody to show broad neutralization ability against XBB.1.5. However, Sotrovimab showed attenuated neutralization efficiency against recently emerging XBB sub-lineages EG.5, FL.1, and GE.1 compared to XBB.1.5. Additionally, XBB.1.5 seropositive convalescent sera displayed lower neutralization activity against EG.5, FL.1, and GE.1. Overall, our findings present enhanced immune evasion capacity of emerging XBB variants and emphasize the importance of continued monitoring of novel variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Lee
- Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Youichi Naoe
- Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Uikyu Bang
- Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Yu Nakagama
- Department of Virology & Parasitology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Akatsuki Saito
- Department of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 889-2192, Japan; Graduate School of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 889-1692, Japan; Center for Animal Disease Control, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 889-2192, Japan
| | - Yasutoshi Kido
- Department of Virology & Parasitology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Akitsu Hotta
- Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan.
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Castelletti N, Paunovic I, Rubio-Acero R, Beyerl J, Plank M, Reinkemeyer C, Kroidl I, Noreña I, Winter S, Olbrich L, Janke C, Hoelscher M, Wieser A. A Dried Blood Spot protocol for high-throughput quantitative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 RBD serology based on the Roche Elecsys system. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0288523. [PMID: 38426747 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02885-23] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 spreads pandemically since 2020; in 2021, effective vaccinations became available and vaccination campaigns commenced. Still, it is hard to track the spread of the infection or to assess vaccination success in the broader population. Measuring specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies is the most effective tool to track the spread of the infection or successful vaccinations. The need for venous-blood sampling however poses a significant barrier for large studies. Dried-blood-spots on filter-cards (DBS) have been used for SARS-CoV-2 serology in our laboratory, but so far not to follow quantitative SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike reactivity in a longitudinal cohort. We developed a semi-automated protocol or quantitative SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike serology from self-sampled DBS, validating it in a cohort of matched DBS and venous-blood samples (n = 825). We investigated chromatographic effects, reproducibility, and carry-over effects and calculated a positivity threshold as well as a conversion formula to determine the quantitative binding units in the DBS with confidence intervals. Sensitivity and specificity reached 96.63% and 97.81%, respectively, compared to the same test performed in paired venous samples. Between a signal of 0.018 and 250 U/mL, we calculated a correction formula. Measuring longitudinal samples during vaccinations, we demonstrated relative changes in titers over time in several individuals and in a longitudinal cohort over four follow-ups. DBS sampling has proven itself for anti-nucleocapsid serosurveys in our laboratory. Similarly, anti-spike high-throughput DBS serology is feasible as a complementary assay. Quantitative measurements are accurate enough to follow titer dynamics in populations also after vaccination campaigns. This work was supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts; LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich; Helmholtz Center Munich; University of Bonn; University of Bielefeld; German Ministry for Education and Research (proj. nr.: 01KI20271 and others) and the Medical Biodefense Research Program of the Bundeswehr Medical Service. Roche Diagnostics provided kits and machines for analyses at discounted rates. The project is funded also by the European-wide Consortium ORCHESTRA. The ORCHESTRA project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101016167. The views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author, and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.IMPORTANCESARS-CoV-2 has been spreading globally as a pandemic since 2020. To determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among populations, the most effective public health tool is measuring specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies induced by infection or vaccination. However, conducting large-scale studies that involve venous-blood sampling is challenging due to the associated feasibility and cost issues. A more cost-efficient and less invasive method for SARS-CoV-2 serological testing is using Dried-Blood-Spots on filter cards (DBS). In this paper, we have developed a semi-automated protocol for quantifying SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike antibodies from self-collected DBS. Our laboratory has previously successfully used DBS sampling for anti-nucleocapsid antibody surveys. Likewise, conducting high-throughput DBS serology for anti-spike antibodies is feasible as an additional test that can be performed using the same sample preparation as the anti-nucleocapsid analysis. The quantitative measurements obtained are accurate enough to track the dynamics of antibody levels in populations, even after vaccination campaigns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noemi Castelletti
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Munich, Germany
| | - Ivana Paunovic
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Munich, Germany
- Max-von-Pettenkofer Institute, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Raquel Rubio-Acero
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jessica Beyerl
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Munich, Germany
- Max-von-Pettenkofer Institute, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Plank
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Christina Reinkemeyer
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Inge Kroidl
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ivan Noreña
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Simon Winter
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Olbrich
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Christian Janke
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Hoelscher
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Munich, Munich, Germany
- Center for International Health (CIH), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Wieser
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Munich, Germany
- Max-von-Pettenkofer Institute, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Munich, Munich, Germany
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Martins M, Nooruzzaman M, Cunningham JL, Ye C, Caserta LC, Jackson N, Martinez-Sobrido L, Fang Y, Diel DG. The SARS-CoV-2 Spike is a virulence determinant and plays a major role on the attenuated phenotype of Omicron virus in a feline model of infection. J Virol 2024; 98:e0190223. [PMID: 38421180 PMCID: PMC10949471 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01902-23] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The role of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron BA.1 Spike (S) on disease pathogenesis was investigated. For this, we generated recombinant viruses harboring the S D614G mutation (rWA1-D614G) and the Omicron BA.1 S gene (rWA1-Omi-S) in the backbone of the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 WA1 strain genome. The recombinant viruses were characterized in vitro and in vivo. Viral entry, cell-cell fusion, plaque size, and the replication kinetics of the rWA1-Omi-S virus were markedly impaired when compared to the rWA1-D614G virus, demonstrating a lower fusogenicity and ability to spread cell-to-cell of rWA1-Omi-S. To assess the contribution of the Omicron BA.1 S protein to SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, the pathogenicity of rWA1-D614G and rWA1-Omi-S viruses was compared in a feline model. While the rWA1-D614G-inoculated cats were lethargic and showed increased body temperatures on days 2 and 3 post-infection (pi), rWA1-Omi-S-inoculated cats remained subclinical and gained weight throughout the 14-day experimental period. Animals inoculated with rWA1-D614G presented higher infectious virus shedding in nasal secretions, when compared to rWA1-Omi-S-inoculated animals. In addition, tissue replication of the rWA1-Omi-S was markedly reduced compared to the rWA1-D614G, as evidenced by lower viral load in tissues on days 3 and 5 pi. Histologic examination of the nasal turbinate and lungs revealed intense inflammatory infiltration in rWA1-D614G-inoculated animals, whereas rWA1-Omi-S-inoculated cats presented only mild to modest inflammation. Together, these results demonstrate that the S protein is a major virulence determinant for SARS-CoV-2 playing a major role for the attenuated phenotype of the Omicron virus. IMPORTANCE We have demonstrated that the Omicron BA.1.1 variant presents lower pathogenicity when compared to D614G (B.1) lineage in a feline model of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. There are over 50 mutations across the Omicron genome, of which more than two-thirds are present in the Spike (S) protein. To assess the role of the Omicron BA.1 S on virus pathogenesis, recombinant viruses harboring the S D614G mutation (rWA1-D614G) and the Omicron BA.1 Spike gene (rWA1-Omi-S) in the backbone of the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 WA1 were generated. While the Omicron BA.1 S promoted early entry into cells, it led to impaired fusogenic activity and cell-cell spread. Infection studies with the recombinant viruses in a relevant naturally susceptible feline model of SARS-CoV-2 infection here revealed an attenuated phenotype of rWA1-Omi-S, demonstrating that the Omi-S is a major determinant of the attenuated disease phenotype of Omicron strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Martins
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Mohammed Nooruzzaman
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Jessie Lee Cunningham
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Chengjin Ye
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Leonardo Cardia Caserta
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | | | | | - Ying Fang
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Diego G. Diel
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
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6
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Winiger RR, Perez L. Therapeutic antibodies and alternative formats against SARS-CoV-2. Antiviral Res 2024; 223:105820. [PMID: 38307147 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2024.105820] [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: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) heavily burdened the entire world. Despite a prompt generation of vaccines and therapeutics to confront infection, the virus remains a threat. The ancestor viral strain has evolved into several variants of concern, with the Omicron variant now having many distinct sublineages. Consequently, most available antibodies targeting the spike went obsolete and thus new therapies or therapeutic formats are needed. In this review we focus on antibody targets, provide an overview of the therapeutic progress made so far, describe novel formats being explored, and lessons learned from therapeutic antibodies that can enhance pandemic preparedness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahel R Winiger
- University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Service of Immunology and Allergy, and Center for Human Immunology Lausanne (CHIL), Switzerland.
| | - Laurent Perez
- University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Service of Immunology and Allergy, and Center for Human Immunology Lausanne (CHIL), Switzerland.
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Behboudi E, Nooreddin Faraji S, Daryabor G, Mohammad Ali Hashemi S, Asadi M, Edalat F, Javad Raee M, Hatam G. SARS-CoV-2 mechanisms of cell tropism in various organs considering host factors. Heliyon 2024; 10:e26577. [PMID: 38420467 PMCID: PMC10901034 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26577] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
A critical step in the drug design for SARS-CoV-2 is to discover its molecular targets. This study comprehensively reviewed the molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2, exploring host cell tropism and interaction targets crucial for cell entry. The findings revealed that beyond ACE2 as the primary entry receptor, alternative receptors, co-receptors, and several proteases such as TMPRSS2, Furin, Cathepsin L, and ADAM play critical roles in virus entry and subsequent pathogenesis. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 displays tropism in various human organs due to its diverse receptors. This review delves into the intricate details of receptors, host proteases, and the involvement of each organ. Polymorphisms in the ACE2 receptor and mutations in the spike or its RBD region contribute to the emergence of variants like Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron, impacting the pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2. The challenge posed by mutations raises questions about the effectiveness of existing vaccines and drugs, necessitating consideration for updates in their formulations. In the urgency of these critical situations, repurposed drugs such as Camostat Mesylate and Nafamostat Mesylate emerge as viable pharmaceutical options. Numerous drugs are involved in inhibiting receptors and host factors crucial for SARS-CoV-2 entry, with most discussed in this review. In conclusion, this study may provide valuable insights to inform decisions in therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emad Behboudi
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Khoy University of Medical Sciences, Khoy, Iran
| | - Seyed Nooreddin Faraji
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Gholamreza Daryabor
- Autoimmune Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Seyed Mohammad Ali Hashemi
- Department of Bacteriology & Virology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Department of Microbiology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
| | - Maryam Asadi
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Fahime Edalat
- Department of Bacteriology & Virology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Javad Raee
- Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Gholamreza Hatam
- Basic Sciences in Infectious Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
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8
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Magro C, Tili E, Nuovo G. Disruption of the blood-brain barrier is correlated with spike endocytosis by ACE2 + endothelia in the CNS microvasculature in fatal COVID-19. Scientific commentary on "Detection of blood-brain barrier disruption in brains of patients with COVID-19, but no evidence of brain penetration by SARS-CoV-2". Acta Neuropathol 2024; 147:47. [PMID: 38413411 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02681-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia Magro
- Distinguished Professor of Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, NY, NY, USA
| | - Esmerina Tili
- Department of Anesthesiology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Gerard Nuovo
- The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
- CMO - GNOMEDX, Powell, OH, USA.
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Govednik T, Lainšček D, Kuhar U, Lachish M, Janežič S, Štrbenc M, Krapež U, Jerala R, Atlas D, Manček-Keber M. TXM peptides inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection, syncytia formation, and lower inflammatory consequences. Antiviral Res 2024; 222:105806. [PMID: 38211737 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2024.105806] [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: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
After three years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the search and availability of relatively low-cost benchtop therapeutics for people not at high risk for a severe disease are still ongoing. Although vaccines and new SARS-CoV-2 variants reduce the death toll, the long COVID-19 along with neurologic symptoms can develop and persist even after a mild initial infection. Reinfections, which further increase the risk of sequelae in multiple organ systems as well as the risk of death, continue to require caution. The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is an important target for both vaccines and therapeutics. The presence of disulfide bonds in the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein is essential for its binding to the human ACE2 receptor and cell entry. Here, we demonstrate that thiol-reducing peptides based on the active site of oxidoreductase thioredoxin 1, called thioredoxin mimetic (TXM) peptides, can prevent syncytia formation, SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells, and infection in a mouse model. We also show that TXM peptides inhibit the redox-sensitive HIV pseudotyped viral cell entry. These results support disulfide targeting as a common therapeutic strategy for treating infections caused by viruses using redox-sensitive fusion. Furthermore, TXM peptides exert anti-inflammatory properties by lowering the activation of NF-κB and IRF signaling pathways, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cytokines in mice. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the TXM peptides, which also cross the blood-brain barrier, in combination with prevention of viral infections, may provide a beneficial clinical strategy to lower viral infections and mitigate severe consequences of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tea Govednik
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Graduate School of Biomedicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Duško Lainšček
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Centre of Excellence EN-FIST, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Urška Kuhar
- Institute for Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Marva Lachish
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
| | - Sandra Janežič
- National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia
| | - Malan Štrbenc
- Institute for Preclinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Uroš Krapež
- Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Roman Jerala
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Centre of Excellence EN-FIST, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Daphne Atlas
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.
| | - Mateja Manček-Keber
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Centre of Excellence EN-FIST, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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10
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Zech F, Jung C, Jacob T, Kirchhoff F. Causes and Consequences of Coronavirus Spike Protein Variability. Viruses 2024; 16:177. [PMID: 38399953 PMCID: PMC10892391 DOI: 10.3390/v16020177] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Coronaviruses are a large family of enveloped RNA viruses found in numerous animal species. They are well known for their ability to cross species barriers and have been transmitted from bats or intermediate hosts to humans on several occasions. Four of the seven human coronaviruses (hCoVs) are responsible for approximately 20% of common colds (hCoV-229E, -NL63, -OC43, -HKU1). Two others (SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV) cause severe and frequently lethal respiratory syndromes but have only spread to very limited extents in the human population. In contrast the most recent human hCoV, SARS-CoV-2, while exhibiting intermediate pathogenicity, has a profound impact on public health due to its enormous spread. In this review, we discuss which initial features of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and subsequent adaptations to the new human host may have helped this pathogen to cause the COVID-19 pandemic. Our focus is on host forces driving changes in the Spike protein and their consequences for virus infectivity, pathogenicity, immune evasion and resistance to preventive or therapeutic agents. In addition, we briefly address the significance and perspectives of broad-spectrum therapeutics and vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Zech
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Christoph Jung
- Institute of Electrochemistry, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany; (C.J.); (T.J.)
- Helmholtz-Institute Ulm (HIU) Electrochemical Energy Storage, 89081 Ulm, Germany
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Timo Jacob
- Institute of Electrochemistry, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany; (C.J.); (T.J.)
- Helmholtz-Institute Ulm (HIU) Electrochemical Energy Storage, 89081 Ulm, Germany
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Frank Kirchhoff
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, 89081 Ulm, Germany
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11
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Hakim MS, Gunadi, Rahayu A, Wibawa H, Eryvinka LS, Supriyati E, Vujira KA, Iskandar K, Afiahayati, Daniwijaya EW, Oktoviani FN, Annisa L, Utami FDT, Amadeus VC, Nurhidayah SS, Leksono TP, Halim FV, Arguni E, Nuryastuti T, Wibawa T. Sequence analysis of the Spike, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, and protease genes reveals a distinct evolutionary pattern of SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces, Indonesia. Virus Genes 2024:10.1007/s11262-023-02048-1. [PMID: 38244104 DOI: 10.1007/s11262-023-02048-1] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the resurgence of SARS-CoV-2 was due to the development of novel variants of concern (VOC). Thus, genomic surveillance is essential to monitor continuing evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and to track the emergence of novel variants. In this study, we performed phylogenetic, mutation, and selection pressure analyses of the Spike, nsp12, nsp3, and nsp5 genes of SARS-CoV-2 isolates circulating in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces, Indonesia from May 2021 to February 2022. Various bioinformatics tools were employed to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of distinct SARS-CoV-2 isolates. During the study period, 213 and 139 isolates of Omicron and Delta variants were identified, respectively. Particularly in the Spike gene, mutations were significantly more abundant in Omicron than in Delta variants. Consistently, in all of four genes studied, the substitution rates of Omicron were higher than that of Delta variants, especially in the Spike and nsp12 genes. In addition, selective pressure analysis revealed several sites that were positively selected in particular genes, implying that these sites were functionally essential for virus evolution. In conclusion, our study demonstrated a distinct evolutionary pattern of SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces, Indonesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamad Saifudin Hakim
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
| | - Gunadi
- Pediatric Surgery Division, Department of Surgery and Genetics Working Group/Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Ayu Rahayu
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Hendra Wibawa
- Disease Investigation Center Wates, Directorate General of Livestok Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Laudria Stella Eryvinka
- Pediatric Surgery Division, Department of Surgery and Genetics Working Group/Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Endah Supriyati
- Centre for Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Khanza Adzkia Vujira
- Pediatric Surgery Division, Department of Surgery and Genetics Working Group/Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Kristy Iskandar
- Department of Child Health and Genetics Working Group, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/UGM Academic Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Afiahayati
- Department of Computer Science and Electronics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Edwin Widyanto Daniwijaya
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Farida Nur Oktoviani
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Luthvia Annisa
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Fadila Dyah Trie Utami
- Pediatric Surgery Division, Department of Surgery and Genetics Working Group/Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Verrell Christopher Amadeus
- Pediatric Surgery Division, Department of Surgery and Genetics Working Group/Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Setiani Silvy Nurhidayah
- Pediatric Surgery Division, Department of Surgery and Genetics Working Group/Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Tiara Putri Leksono
- Pediatric Surgery Division, Department of Surgery and Genetics Working Group/Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Fiqih Vidiantoro Halim
- Pediatric Surgery Division, Department of Surgery and Genetics Working Group/Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Eggi Arguni
- Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Titik Nuryastuti
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Tri Wibawa
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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12
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Aksu M, Kumar P, Güttler T, Taxer W, Gregor K, Mußil B, Rymarenko O, Stegmann KM, Dickmanns A, Gerber S, Reineking W, Schulz C, Henneck T, Mohamed A, Pohlmann G, Ramazanoglu M, Mese K, Groß U, Ben-Yedidia T, Ovadia O, Fischer DW, Kamensky M, Reichman A, Baumgärtner W, von Köckritz-Blickwede M, Dobbelstein M, Görlich D. Nanobodies to multiple spike variants and inhalation of nanobody-containing aerosols neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture and hamsters. Antiviral Res 2024; 221:105778. [PMID: 38065245 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2023.105778] [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: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
The ongoing threat of COVID-19 has highlighted the need for effective prophylaxis and convenient therapies, especially for outpatient settings. We have previously developed highly potent single-domain (VHH) antibodies, also known as nanobodies, that target the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and neutralize the Wuhan strain of the virus. In this study, we present a new generation of anti-RBD nanobodies with superior properties. The primary representative of this group, Re32D03, neutralizes Alpha to Delta as well as Omicron BA.2.75; other members neutralize, in addition, Omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.4/5, and XBB.1. Crystal structures of RBD-nanobody complexes reveal how ACE2-binding is blocked and also explain the nanobodies' tolerance to immune escape mutations. Through the cryo-EM structure of the Ma16B06-BA.1 Spike complex, we demonstrated how a single nanobody molecule can neutralize a trimeric spike. We also describe a method for large-scale production of these nanobodies in Pichia pastoris, and for formulating them into aerosols. Exposing hamsters to these aerosols, before or even 24 h after infection with SARS-CoV-2, significantly reduced virus load, weight loss and pathogenicity. These results show the potential of aerosolized nanobodies for prophylaxis and therapy of coronavirus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Metin Aksu
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Dept. of Cellular Logistics, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Priya Kumar
- University Medical Center Göttingen, Dept. of Molecular Oncology, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Thomas Güttler
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Dept. of Cellular Logistics, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; Octapharma Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 590, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Waltraud Taxer
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Dept. of Cellular Logistics, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kathrin Gregor
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Dept. of Cellular Logistics, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Bianka Mußil
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Dept. of Cellular Logistics, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Oleh Rymarenko
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Dept. of Cellular Logistics, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kim M Stegmann
- University Medical Center Göttingen, Dept. of Molecular Oncology, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Antje Dickmanns
- University Medical Center Göttingen, Dept. of Molecular Oncology, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sabrina Gerber
- University Medical Center Göttingen, Dept. of Molecular Oncology, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wencke Reineking
- Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| | - Claudia Schulz
- Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonosis (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| | - Timo Henneck
- Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonosis (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany; Department of Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| | - Ahmed Mohamed
- Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonosis (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany; Department of Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| | - Gerhard Pohlmann
- Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Nikolai-Fuchs Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Mehmet Ramazanoglu
- Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Nikolai-Fuchs Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Kemal Mese
- University Medical Center Göttingen, Dept. of Medical Microbiology and Virology, Kreuzbergring 57, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Uwe Groß
- University Medical Center Göttingen, Dept. of Medical Microbiology and Virology, Kreuzbergring 57, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tamar Ben-Yedidia
- Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd., Jerusalem BioPark, Hadassah Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, 9112001, Israel
| | - Oded Ovadia
- Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd., Jerusalem BioPark, Hadassah Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, 9112001, Israel
| | - Dalit Weinstein Fischer
- Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd., Jerusalem BioPark, Hadassah Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, 9112001, Israel
| | - Merav Kamensky
- Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd., Jerusalem BioPark, Hadassah Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, 9112001, Israel
| | - Amir Reichman
- Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd., Jerusalem BioPark, Hadassah Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, 9112001, Israel
| | - Wolfgang Baumgärtner
- Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| | - Maren von Köckritz-Blickwede
- Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonosis (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany; Department of Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| | - Matthias Dobbelstein
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Dept. of Cellular Logistics, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; University Medical Center Göttingen, Dept. of Molecular Oncology, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Dirk Görlich
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Dept. of Cellular Logistics, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
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13
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Quezada A, Annapareddy A, Javanmardi K, Cooper J, Finkelstein IJ. Mammalian Antigen Display for Pandemic Countermeasures. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2762:191-216. [PMID: 38315367 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3666-4_12] [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] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Pandemic countermeasures require the rapid design of antigens for vaccines, profiling patient antibody responses, assessing antigen structure-function landscapes, and the surveillance of emerging viral lineages. Cell surface display of a viral antigen or its subdomains can facilitate these goals by coupling the phenotypes of protein variants to their DNA sequence. Screening surface-displayed proteins via flow cytometry also eliminates time-consuming protein purification steps. Prior approaches have primarily relied on yeast as a display chassis. However, yeast often cannot express large viral glycoproteins, requiring their truncation into subdomains. Here, we describe a method to design and express antigens on the surface of mammalian HEK293T cells. We discuss three use cases, including screening of stabilizing mutations, deep mutational scanning, and epitope mapping. The mammalian antigen display platform described herein will accelerate ongoing and future pandemic countermeasures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Quezada
- Department of Molecular BioSciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ankur Annapareddy
- Department of Molecular BioSciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Kamyab Javanmardi
- Department of Molecular BioSciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - John Cooper
- Department of Molecular BioSciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ilya J Finkelstein
- Department of Molecular BioSciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
- Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
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14
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Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant of concern, first identified in November 2021, rapidly spread worldwide and diversified into several subvariants. The Omicron spike (S) protein accumulated an unprecedented number of sequence changes relative to previous variants. In this review, we discuss how Omicron S protein structural features modulate host cell receptor binding, virus entry, and immune evasion and highlight how these structural features differentiate Omicron from previous variants. We also examine how key structural properties track across the still-evolving Omicron subvariants and the importance of continuing surveillance of the S protein sequence evolution over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth J Parsons
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Duke University, Department of Biochemistry, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
| | - Priyamvada Acharya
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Duke University, Department of Biochemistry, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Duke University, Department of Surgery, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
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15
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Faraone JN, Qu P, Goodarzi N, Zheng YM, Carlin C, Saif LJ, Oltz EM, Xu K, Jones D, Gumina RJ, Liu SL. Immune evasion and membrane fusion of SARS-CoV-2 XBB subvariants EG.5.1 and XBB.2.3. Emerg Microbes Infect 2023; 12:2270069. [PMID: 37819267 PMCID: PMC10606793 DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2023.2270069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Immune evasion by SARS-CoV-2 paired with immune imprinting from monovalent mRNA vaccines has resulted in attenuated neutralizing antibody responses against Omicron subvariants. In this study, we characterized two new XBB variants rising in circulation - EG.5.1 and XBB.2.3, for their neutralization and syncytia formation. We determined the neutralizing antibody titers in sera of individuals that received a bivalent mRNA vaccine booster, BA.4/5-wave infection, or XBB.1.5-wave infection. Bivalent vaccination-induced antibodies neutralized ancestral D614G efficiently, but to a much less extent, two new EG.5.1 and XBB.2.3 variants. In fact, the enhanced neutralization escape of EG.5.1 appeared to be driven by its key defining mutation XBB.1.5-F456L. Notably, infection by BA.4/5 or XBB.1.5 afforded little, if any, neutralization against EG.5.1, XBB.2.3 and previous XBB variants - especially in unvaccinated individuals, with average neutralizing antibody titers near the limit of detection. Additionally, we investigated the infectivity, fusion activity, and processing of variant spikes for EG.5.1 and XBB.2.3 in HEK293T-ACE2 and CaLu-3 cells but found no significant differences compared to earlier XBB variants. Overall, our findings highlight the continued immune evasion of new Omicron subvariants and, more importantly, the need to reformulate mRNA vaccines to include XBB spikes for better protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia N. Faraone
- Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Panke Qu
- Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Negin Goodarzi
- Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Yi-Min Zheng
- Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Claire Carlin
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Linda J. Saif
- Center for Food Animal Health, Animal Sciences Department, OARDC, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA
- Veterinary Preventive Medicine Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA
- Viruses and Emerging Pathogens Program, Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Eugene M. Oltz
- Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Kai Xu
- Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Daniel Jones
- Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Richard J. Gumina
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Shan-Lu Liu
- Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Viruses and Emerging Pathogens Program, Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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16
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Horrillo-Maysonnial A, Avigdor T, Abdallah C, Mansilla D, Thomas J, von Ellenrieder N, Royer J, Bernhardt B, Grova C, Gotman J, Frauscher B. Targeted density electrode placement achieves high concordance with traditional high-density EEG for electrical source imaging in epilepsy. Clin Neurophysiol 2023; 156:262-271. [PMID: 37704552 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2023.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [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: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE High-density (HD) electroencephalography (EEG) is increasingly used in presurgical epilepsy evaluation, but it is demanding in time and resources. To overcome these issues, we compared EEG source imaging (ESI) solutions with a targeted density and HD-EEG montage. METHODS HD-EEGs from patients undergoing presurgical evaluation were analyzed. A low-density recording was created by selecting the 25 electrodes of a standard montage from the 83 electrodes of the HD-EEG and adding 8-11 electrodes around the electrode with the highest amplitude interictal epileptiform discharges. The ESI solution from this "targeted" montage was compared to that from the HD-EEG using the distance between peak vertices, sublobar concordance and a qualitative similarity measure. RESULTS Fifty-eight foci of forty-three patients were included. The median distance between the peak vertices of the two montages was 13.2 mm, irrespective of focus' location. Tangential generators (n = 5/58) showed a higher distance than radial generators (p = 0.04). We found sublobar concordance in 54/58 of the foci (93%). Map similarity, assessed by an epileptologist, had a median score of 4/5. CONCLUSIONS ESI solutions obtained from a targeted density montage show high concordance with those calculated from HD-EEG. SIGNIFICANCE Requiring significantly fewer electrodes, targeted density EEG allows obtaining similar ESI solutions as traditional HD-EEG montage.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Horrillo-Maysonnial
- Clinical Neurophysiology Section, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; Analytical Neurophysiology Lab, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - T Avigdor
- Analytical Neurophysiology Lab, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Multimodal Functional Imaging Lab, Biomedical Engineering Department, McGill University, Canada.
| | - C Abdallah
- Analytical Neurophysiology Lab, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Multimodal Functional Imaging Lab, Biomedical Engineering Department, McGill University, Canada.
| | - D Mansilla
- Analytical Neurophysiology Lab, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - J Thomas
- Analytical Neurophysiology Lab, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - N von Ellenrieder
- Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - J Royer
- Analytical Neurophysiology Lab, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Multimodal Imaging and Connectome Analysis Laboratory, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - B Bernhardt
- Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Multimodal Imaging and Connectome Analysis Laboratory, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - C Grova
- Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Multimodal Functional Imaging Lab, Biomedical Engineering Department, McGill University, Canada; Multimodal Functional Imaging Lab, PERFORM Center, Department of Physics, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - J Gotman
- Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - B Frauscher
- Analytical Neurophysiology Lab, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke Pratt School of Engineering, Durham, NC, United States.
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17
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Masood KI, Qaiser S, Abidi SH, Khan E, Mahmood SF, Hussain A, Ghous Z, Imtiaz K, Ali N, Hasan M, Memon HA, Yameen M, Ali S, Baloch S, Lakhani G, Alves PM, Iqbal NT, Ahmed K, Iqbal J, Bhutta ZA, Hussain R, Rottenberg M, Simas JP, Veldhoen M, Ghias K, Hasan Z. Humoral and T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 reveal insights into immunity during the early pandemic period in Pakistan. BMC Infect Dis 2023; 23:846. [PMID: 38041026 PMCID: PMC10691108 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-023-08829-1] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Protection against SARS-CoV-2 is mediated by humoral and T cell responses. Pakistan faced relatively low morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 through the pandemic. To examine the role of prior immunity in the population, we studied IgG antibody response levels, virus neutralizing activity and T cell reactivity to Spike protein in a healthy control group (HG) as compared with COVID-19 cases and individuals from the pre-pandemic period (PP). METHODS HG and COVID-19 participants were recruited between October 2020 and May 2021. Pre-pandemic sera was collected before 2018. IgG antibodies against Spike and its Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) were determined by ELISA. Virus neutralization activity was determined using a PCR-based micro-neutralization assay. T cell - IFN-γ activation was assessed by ELISpot. RESULTS Overall, the magnitude of anti-Spike IgG antibody levels as well as seropositivity was greatest in COVID-19 cases (90%) as compared with HG (39.8%) and PP (12.2%). During the study period, Pakistan experienced three COVID-19 waves. We observed that IgG seropositivity to Spike in HG increased from 10.3 to 83.5% during the study, whilst seropositivity to RBD increased from 7.5 to 33.3%. IgG antibodies to Spike and RBD were correlated positively in all three study groups. Virus neutralizing activity was identified in sera of COVID-19, HG and PP. Spike reactive T cells were present in COVID-19, HG and PP groups. Individuals with reactive T cells included those with and without IgG antibodies to Spike. CONCLUSIONS Antibody and T cell responses to Spike protein in individuals from the pre-pandemic period suggest prior immunity against SARS-CoV-2, most likely from cross-reactive responses. The rising seroprevalence observed in healthy individuals through the pandemic without known COVID-19 may be due to the activation of adaptive immunity from cross-reactive memory B and T cells. This may explain the more favourable COVID-19 outcomes observed in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiran Iqbal Masood
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Shama Qaiser
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Syed Hani Abidi
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Erum Khan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | | | - Areeba Hussain
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Zara Ghous
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Khekahsan Imtiaz
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Natasha Ali
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Hasan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Haris Ali Memon
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Maliha Yameen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Shiza Ali
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Sadaf Baloch
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Gulzar Lakhani
- Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Paula M Alves
- iBET - Instituto de Biologia Experimental E Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Najeeha Talat Iqbal
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
- Department of Pediatrics, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Kumail Ahmed
- Department of Pediatrics, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Junaid Iqbal
- Department of Pediatrics, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Zulfiqar A Bhutta
- Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
- Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
| | - Rabia Hussain
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan
| | - Martin Rottenberg
- Department of Microbiology and Tumor Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - J Pedro Simas
- Católica Biomedical Research, Católica Medical School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Palma de Cima, 1649-023, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Marc Veldhoen
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular | João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Kulsoom Ghias
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Zahra Hasan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O.Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan.
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Emad R, Naga IS. Comparative genotyping of SARS-CoV-2 among Egyptian patients: near-full length genomic sequences versus selected spike and nucleocapsid regions. Med Microbiol Immunol 2023; 212:437-446. [PMID: 37789185 PMCID: PMC10618331 DOI: 10.1007/s00430-023-00783-8] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Several tools have been developed for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genotyping based on either whole genome or spike sequencing. We aimed to highlight the molecular epidemiological landscape of SARS-CoV-2 in Egypt since the start of the pandemic, to describe discrepancies between the 3 typing tools: Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID), Nextclade, and Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak Lineages (PANGOLIN) and to assess the fitness of spike and nucleocapsid regions for lineage assignment compared to the whole genome. A total of 3935 sequences isolated from Egypt (March 2020-2023) were retrieved from the GISAID database. A subset of data (n = 1212) with high coverage whole genome was used for tool discrimination and agreement analyses. Among 1212 sequences, the highest discriminatory power was 0.895 for PANGOLIN, followed by GISAID (0.872) and Nextclade (0.866). There was a statistically significant difference (p = 0.0418) between lineages assigned via spike (30%) and nucleocapsid (46%) compared to their whole genome-assigned lineages. The first 3 pandemic waves were dominated by B.1, followed by C.36 and then C.36.3, while the fourth to sixth waves were dominated by the B.1.617.2, BA, and BA.5.2 lineages, respectively. Current shift in lineage typing to recombinant forms. The 3 typing tools showed comparable discrimination among SARS-CoV-2 lineages. The nucleocapsid region could be used for lineage assignment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasha Emad
- Alexandria Main University Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt.
| | - Iman S Naga
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
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19
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Su WC, Chen ZY, Chang YS, Jeng KS, Le UNP, Chou YC, Kuo LL, Melano I, Jesse, Wang WJ, Song YC, Li SR, Hung MC, Lai MMC, Lin CW. Functional assessments of SARS-CoV-2 single-round infectious particles with variant-specific spike proteins on infectivity, drug sensitivity, and antibody neutralization. Antiviral Res 2023; 220:105744. [PMID: 37944823 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2023.105744] [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: 07/29/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Working with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is restricted to biosafety level III (BSL-3) laboratory. The study used a trans-complementation system consisting of virus-like particles (VLPs) and DNA-launched replicons to generate SARS-CoV-2 single-round infectious particles (SRIPs) with variant-specific spike (S) proteins. S gene of Wuhan-Hu-1 strain (SWH1) or Omicron BA.1 variant (SBA.1), along with the envelope (E) and membrane (M) genes, were cloned into a tricistronic vector, co-expressed in the cells to produce variant-specific S-VLPs. Additionally, the replicon of the WH1-like strain without S, E, M and accessory genes, was engineered under the control by a CMV promoter to produce self-replicating RNAs within VLP-producing cells, led to create SWH1- and SBA.1-based SARS-CoV-2 SRIPs. The SBA.1-based SRIP showed lower virus yield, replication, N protein expression, fusogenicity, and infectivity compared to SWH1-based SRIPs. SBA.1-based SRIP also exhibited intermediate resistance to neutralizing antibodies produced by SWH1-based vaccines, but were effective at infecting cells with low ACE2 expression. Importantly, both S-based SRIPs responded similarly to remdesivir and GC376, with EC50 values ranging from 0.17 to 1.46 μM, respectively. The study demonstrated that this trans-complementation system is a reliable and efficient tool for generating SARS-CoV-2 SRIPs with variant-specific S proteins. SARS-CoV-2 SRIPs, mimicking authentic live viruses, facilitate comprehensive analysis of variant-specific virological characteristics, including antibody neutralization, and drug sensitivity in non-BSL-3 laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Chi Su
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; International Master's Program of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404327, Taiwan; Drug Development Center, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan
| | - Zan-Yu Chen
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan
| | - Young-Sheng Chang
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan
| | - King-Song Jeng
- Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404327, Taiwan
| | - Uyen Nguyen Phuong Le
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chi Chou
- Biomedical Translation Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201, Taiwan
| | - Li-Lan Kuo
- International Master's Program of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan
| | - Ivonne Melano
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan
| | - Jesse
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Jan Wang
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan
| | - Ying-Chyi Song
- Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Sin-Rong Li
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Department of Laboratory Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404327, Taiwan
| | - Mien-Chie Hung
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Research Center for Cancer Biology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404327, Taiwan; Center for Molecular Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404327, Taiwan
| | - Michael M C Lai
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201, Taiwan.
| | - Cheng-Wen Lin
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Drug Development Center, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404333, Taiwan; Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Asia University, Wufeng, Taichung, 413305, Taiwan.
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20
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Hagelauer E, Lotke R, Kmiec D, Hu D, Hohner M, Stopper S, Nchioua R, Kirchhoff F, Sauter D, Schindler M. Tetherin Restricts SARS-CoV-2 despite the Presence of Multiple Viral Antagonists. Viruses 2023; 15:2364. [PMID: 38140605 PMCID: PMC10747847 DOI: 10.3390/v15122364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus infection induces interferon-stimulated genes, one of which encodes Tetherin, a transmembrane protein inhibiting the release of various enveloped viruses from infected cells. Previous studies revealed that SARS-CoV encodes two Tetherin antagonists: the Spike protein (S), inducing lysosomal degradation of Tetherin, and ORF7a, altering its glycosylation. Similarly, SARS-CoV-2 has also been shown to use ORF7a and Spike to enhance virion release in the presence of Tetherin. Here, we directly compare the abilities and mechanisms of these two viral proteins to counteract Tetherin. Therefore, cell surface and total Tetherin levels upon ORF7a or S expression were investigated using flow cytometry and Western blot analysis. SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 S only marginally reduced Tetherin cell surface levels in a cell type-dependent manner. In HEK293T cells, under conditions of high exogenous Tetherin expression, SARS-CoV-2 S and ORF7a reduced total cellular Tetherin levels much more efficiently than the respective counterparts derived from SARS-CoV. Nevertheless, ORF7a from both species was able to alter Tetherin glycosylation. The ability to decrease total protein levels of Tetherin was conserved among S proteins from different SARS-CoV-2 variants (α, γ, δ, ο). While SARS-CoV-2 S and ORF7a both colocalized with Tetherin, only ORF7a directly interacted with the restriction factor in a two-hybrid assay. Despite the presence of multiple Tetherin antagonists, SARS-CoV-2 replication in Caco-2 cells was further enhanced upon Tetherin knockout. Altogether, our data show that endogenous Tetherin restricts SARS-CoV-2 replication and that the antiviral activity of Tetherin is only partially counteracted by viral antagonists with differential and complementary modes of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Hagelauer
- Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (E.H.); (R.L.); (D.H.); (M.H.); (S.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Rishikesh Lotke
- Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (E.H.); (R.L.); (D.H.); (M.H.); (S.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Dorota Kmiec
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, 89081 Ulm, Germany; (D.K.); (R.N.); (F.K.)
| | - Dan Hu
- Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (E.H.); (R.L.); (D.H.); (M.H.); (S.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Mirjam Hohner
- Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (E.H.); (R.L.); (D.H.); (M.H.); (S.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Sophie Stopper
- Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (E.H.); (R.L.); (D.H.); (M.H.); (S.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Rayhane Nchioua
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, 89081 Ulm, Germany; (D.K.); (R.N.); (F.K.)
| | - Frank Kirchhoff
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, 89081 Ulm, Germany; (D.K.); (R.N.); (F.K.)
| | - Daniel Sauter
- Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (E.H.); (R.L.); (D.H.); (M.H.); (S.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Michael Schindler
- Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (E.H.); (R.L.); (D.H.); (M.H.); (S.S.); (D.S.)
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21
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Magazine N, Zhang T, Bungwon AD, McGee MC, Wu Y, Veggiani G, Huang W. Immune Epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and Considerations for Universal Vaccine Development. bioRxiv 2023:2023.10.26.564184. [PMID: 37961687 PMCID: PMC10634854 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.26.564184] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Despite the success of global vaccination programs in slowing the spread of COVID-19, these efforts have been hindered by the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 strains capable of evading prior immunity. The mutation and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 have created a demand for persistent efforts in vaccine development. SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein has been the primary target for COVID-19 vaccine development, but it is also the hotspot of mutations directly involved in host susceptibility and immune evasion. Our ability to predict emerging mutants and select conserved epitopes is critical for the development of a broadly neutralizing therapy or a universal vaccine. In this article, we review the general paradigm of immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines, highlighting the immunological epitopes of Spike protein that are likely associated with eliciting protective immunity resulting from vaccination. Specifically, we analyze the structural and evolutionary characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein related to immune activation and function via the toll-like receptors (TLRs), B cells, and T cells. We aim to provide a comprehensive analysis of immune epitopes of Spike protein, thereby contributing to the development of new strategies for broad neutralization or universal vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Magazine
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Tianyi Zhang
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Anang D. Bungwon
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Michael C. McGee
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Yingying Wu
- Department of Mathematics, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA
| | - Gianluca Veggiani
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
- Division of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
| | - Weishan Huang
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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Gruber CEM, Tucci FG, Rueca M, Mazzotta V, Gramigna G, Vergori A, Fabeni L, Berno G, Giombini E, Butera O, Focosi D, Prandi IG, Chillemi G, Nicastri E, Vaia F, Girardi E, Antinori A, Maggi F. Treatment-Emergent Cilgavimab Resistance Was Uncommon in Vaccinated Omicron BA.4/5 Outpatients. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1538. [PMID: 37892220 PMCID: PMC10605390 DOI: 10.3390/biom13101538] [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: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein can affect monoclonal antibody efficacy. Recent findings report the occurrence of resistant mutations in immunocompromised patients after tixagevimab/cilgavimab treatment. More recently, the Food and Drug Agency revoked the authorization for tixagevimab/cilgavimab, while this monoclonal antibody cocktail is currently recommended by the European Medical Agency. We retrospectively reviewed 22 immunocompetent patients at high risk for disease progression who received intramuscular tixagevimab/cilgavimab as early COVID-19 treatment and presented a prolonged high viral load. Complete SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences were obtained for a deep investigation of mutation frequencies in Spike protein before and during treatment. At seven days, only one patient showed evidence of treatment-emergent cilgavimab resistance. Quasispecies analysis revealed two different deletions on the Spike protein (S:del138-144 or S:del141-145) in combination with the resistance S:K444N mutation. The structural and dynamic impact of the two quasispecies was characterized by using molecular dynamics simulations, showing the conservation of the principal functional movements in the mutated systems and their capabilities to alter the structure and dynamics of the RBD, responsible for the interaction with the ACE2 human receptor. Our study underlines the importance of prompting an early virological investigation to prevent drug resistance or clinical failures in immunocompetent patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cesare Ernesto Maria Gruber
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (C.E.M.G.); (F.G.T.); (M.R.); (G.G.); (G.B.); (E.G.); (F.M.)
| | - Fabio Giovanni Tucci
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (C.E.M.G.); (F.G.T.); (M.R.); (G.G.); (G.B.); (E.G.); (F.M.)
| | - Martina Rueca
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (C.E.M.G.); (F.G.T.); (M.R.); (G.G.); (G.B.); (E.G.); (F.M.)
| | - Valentina Mazzotta
- Clinical and Research Infectious Diseases Department, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (V.M.); (A.V.); (E.N.); (A.A.)
| | - Giulia Gramigna
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (C.E.M.G.); (F.G.T.); (M.R.); (G.G.); (G.B.); (E.G.); (F.M.)
| | - Alessandra Vergori
- Clinical and Research Infectious Diseases Department, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (V.M.); (A.V.); (E.N.); (A.A.)
| | - Lavinia Fabeni
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (C.E.M.G.); (F.G.T.); (M.R.); (G.G.); (G.B.); (E.G.); (F.M.)
| | - Giulia Berno
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (C.E.M.G.); (F.G.T.); (M.R.); (G.G.); (G.B.); (E.G.); (F.M.)
| | - Emanuela Giombini
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (C.E.M.G.); (F.G.T.); (M.R.); (G.G.); (G.B.); (E.G.); (F.M.)
| | - Ornella Butera
- Laboratory of Microbiology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy;
| | - Daniele Focosi
- North-Western Tuscany Blood Bank, Pisa University Hospital, 56124 Pisa, Italy;
| | - Ingrid Guarnetti Prandi
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis s.n.c, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (I.G.P.); (G.C.)
| | - Giovanni Chillemi
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis s.n.c, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (I.G.P.); (G.C.)
| | - Emanuele Nicastri
- Clinical and Research Infectious Diseases Department, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (V.M.); (A.V.); (E.N.); (A.A.)
| | - Francesco Vaia
- General Direction, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy;
| | - Enrico Girardi
- Scientific Direction, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy;
| | - Andrea Antinori
- Clinical and Research Infectious Diseases Department, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (V.M.); (A.V.); (E.N.); (A.A.)
| | - Fabrizio Maggi
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” (IRCCS), 00149 Rome, Italy; (C.E.M.G.); (F.G.T.); (M.R.); (G.G.); (G.B.); (E.G.); (F.M.)
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23
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Fang S, Lei C, Li M, Ming Y, Liu L, Zhou X, Li M. Collaborative effects of 2019-nCoV- Spike mutants on viral infectivity. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:5125-5135. [PMID: 37920812 PMCID: PMC10618117 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.10.030] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 10/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The emerging mutants of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus are posing unprecedented challenges to the pandemic prevention. A thorough, understanding of the mutational characterization responsible for the pathogenic mechanisms of mutations in 2019-nCoV-Spike is indispensable for developing effective drugs and new vaccines. Methods We employed computational methods and viral infection assays to examine the interaction pattern and binding affinity between ACE2 and both single- and multi-mutants of the Spike proteins. Results Using data from the CNCB-NGDC databank and analysis of the 2019-nCoV-Spike/ACE2 interface crystal structure, we identified 31 amino acids that may significantly contribute to viral infectivity. Subsequently, we performed molecular dynamics simulations for 589 single-mutants that emerged from the nonsynonymous substitutions of the aforementioned 31 residues. Ultimately, we discovered 8 single-mutants that exhibited significantly higher binding affinities (<-65.00 kcal/mol) to ACE2 compared with the wild-type Spike protein (-55.07 kcal/mol). The random combination of these 8 single-mutants yielded 184 multi-mutants, of which 60 multi-mutants exhibit markedly enhanced binding affinities (<-65.00 kcal/mol). Moreover, the binding free energy analyses of all 773 mutants (including 589 single- and 184 multi-mutants) revealed that Y449R and S494R had a synergistic effect on the binding affinity with other mutants, which were confirmed by virus infection assays of six randomly selected multi-mutants. More importantly, the findings of virus infection assay further validated a strong association between the binding free energy of Spike/ACE2 complex and the viral infectivity. Conclusions These findings will greatly contribute to the future surveillance of viruses and rational design of therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Senbiao Fang
- Hunan Provincial Key Lab on Bioinformatics, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
| | - Chuqi Lei
- Hunan Provincial Key Lab on Bioinformatics, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
| | - Meng Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yongfan Ming
- Hunan Provincial Key Lab on Bioinformatics, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
| | - Liren Liu
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital; National Clinical Research Center for Cancer; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin; Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, China
| | - Xuming Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Min Li
- Hunan Provincial Key Lab on Bioinformatics, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
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Rogawski McQuade ET, Becker L, Stroup SE, Khan F, Shah B, Brush J, Goldsmith G, Mullin R, Guilliams D, deFilippi C, Barackman K, Mohr AB, Farrell F, Bearman G, Peake L, Houpt ER. Risk factors and titers of COVID-19 infection in a longitudinal statewide seroepidemiology cohort. BMC Infect Dis 2023; 23:676. [PMID: 37821853 PMCID: PMC10565985 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-023-08670-6] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Virginia is a large state in the USA, yet it remains unclear what percentage of the population has had natural COVID-19 infection and whether risk factors for infection have changed over time. METHODS Using a longitudinal cohort, from December 2021-July 2022 we performed follow up serology and a questionnaire on 784 individuals from across Virginia who had previously participated in a statewide COVID-19 seroepidemiology study in 2020. Children were also invited to participate and an additional 62 children also completed the study. Serology was performed using Roche nucleocapsid and spike serological assays. RESULTS The majority of participants were white (78.6%), over 50 years old (60.9%), and reported having received COVID-19 vaccine (93.4%). 28.6% had evidence of prior COVID-19 infection (nucleocapsid positive). Reweighted by region, age, and sex to match the Virginia census data, the seroprevalence of nucleocapsid antibodies was estimated to be 30.6% (95% CI: 24.7, 36.6). We estimated that 25-53% of COVID-19 infections were asymptomatic. Infection rates were lower in individuals > 60 years old and were higher in Blacks and Hispanics. Infection rates were also higher in those without health insurance, in those with greater numbers of household children, and in those that reported a close contact or having undergone quarantine for COVID-19. Participants from Southwest Virginia had lower seropositivity (16.2%, 95% CI 6.5, 26.0) than other geographic regions. Boosted vaccinees had lower infection rates than non-boosted vaccinees. Frequenting indoor bars was a risk factor for infection, while frequently wearing an N95 mask was protective, though the estimates of association were imprecise. Infection rates were higher in children than adults (56.5% vs. 28.6%). Infection in the parent was a risk factor for child infection. Spike antibody levels declined with time since last vaccination, particularly in those that were vaccinated but not previously infected. Neutralizing antibody positivity was high (97-99%) for wild type, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and omicron variants. Neutralizing antibody levels were higher in the follow-up survey compared to the first survey in 2020 and among individuals with evidence of natural infection compared to those without. CONCLUSIONS In this longitudinal statewide cohort we observed a lower-than-expected COVID-19 infection rate as of August 2022. Boosted vaccinees had lower infection rates. Children had higher infection rates and infections tracked within households. Previously identified demographic risk factors for infection tended to persist. Even after the omicron peak, a large number of Virginians remain uninfected with COVID-19, underscoring the need for ongoing vaccination strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth T Rogawski McQuade
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Lea Becker
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Suzanne E Stroup
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Fauzia Khan
- Research & Clinical Trial Analytics Team, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Bhruga Shah
- Inova Heart and Vascular Institute, Inova Health System, Falls Church, VA, USA
| | - John Brush
- Office of Clinical Research, Sentara Healthcare, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Gay Goldsmith
- Office of Clinical Research, Sentara Healthcare, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Rebecca Mullin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Gonzalo Bearman
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Lilian Peake
- Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Eric R Houpt
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
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25
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Wang L, Wang Y, Zhou H. Potent antibodies against immune invasive SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 249:125997. [PMID: 37499711 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.125997] [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: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 07/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The development of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) is an important strategy to tackle the Omicron variant. Omicron N-terminal domain (NTD) mutations including A67V, G142D, and N212I alter the antigenic structure, and mutations in the spike (S) receptor binding domain (RBD), such as N501Y, R346K, and T478K enhance affinity between the RBD and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), thus conferring Omicron powerful immune evasion. Most nAbs (COV2-2130, ZCB11, REGN10933) and combinations of nAbs (COV2-2196 + COV2-2130, REGN10933 + REGN10987, Brii-196 + Brii-198) have either greatly reduced or lost their neutralizing ability against Omicron, but several nAbs such as SA55, SA58, S309, LY-CoV1404 are still effective in neutralizing most Omicron subvariants. This paper focuses on Omicron subvariants mutations and mechanisms of current therapeutic antibodies that remain efficacious against Omicron subvariants, which will guide us in exploring a new generation of broad nAbs as key therapeutics to tackle SARS-CoV-2 and accelerate the exploration of novel clinical antiviral reagents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidong Wang
- College of Medical Technology, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Yang Wang
- College of Medical Technology, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China
| | - Hao Zhou
- College of Medical Technology, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Sichuan-Chongqing Co-construction for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Chongqing 400016, China.
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26
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Vanderlinden E, Boonen A, Noppen S, Schoofs G, Imbrechts M, Geukens N, Snoeck R, Stevaert A, Naesens L, Andrei G, Schols D. PRO-2000 exhibits SARS-CoV-2 antiviral activity by interfering with spike-heparin binding. Antiviral Res 2023; 217:105700. [PMID: 37562608 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2023.105700] [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: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Here, we report on the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of PRO-2000, a sulfonated polyanionic compound. In Vero cells infected with the Wuhan, alpha, beta, delta or omicron variant, PRO-2000 displayed EC50 values of 1.1 μM, 2.4 μM, 1.3 μM, 2.1 μM and 0.11 μM, respectively, and an average selectivity index (i.e. ratio of cytotoxic versus antiviral concentration) of 172. Its anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity was confirmed by virus yield assays in Vero cells, Caco2 cells and A549 cells overexpressing ACE2 and TMPRSS2 (A549-AT). Using pseudoviruses bearing the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S), PRO-2000 was shown to block the S-mediated pseudovirus entry in Vero cells and A549-AT cells, with EC50 values of 0.091 μM and 1.6 μM, respectively. This entry process is initiated by interaction of the S glycoprotein with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and heparan sulfate proteoglycans. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) studies showed that PRO-2000 binds to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of S with a KD of 1.6 nM. Similar KD values (range: 1.2 nM-2.1 nM) were obtained with the RBDs of the alpha, beta, delta and omicron variants. In an SPR neutralization assay, PRO-2000 had no effect on the interaction between the RBD and ACE2. Instead, PRO-2000 was proven to inhibit binding of the RBD to a heparin-coated sensor chip, yielding an IC50 of 1.1 nM. To conclude, PRO-2000 has the potential to inhibit a broad range of SARS-CoV-2 variants by blocking the heparin-binding site on the S protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelien Vanderlinden
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Arnaud Boonen
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sam Noppen
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Geert Schoofs
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Maya Imbrechts
- PharmAbs, The KU Leuven Antibody Center, Herestraat 49 box 820, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nick Geukens
- PharmAbs, The KU Leuven Antibody Center, Herestraat 49 box 820, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Robert Snoeck
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Annelies Stevaert
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lieve Naesens
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Graciela Andrei
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dominique Schols
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
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27
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Kroidl I, Winter S, Rubio-Acero R, Bakuli A, Geldmacher C, Eser TM, Déak F, Horn S, Zielke A, Ahmed MIM, Diepers P, Guggenbühl J, Frese J, Bruger J, Puchinger K, Reich J, Falk P, Markgraf A, Fensterseifer H, Paunovic I, Thomschke A, Pritsch M, Riess F, Saathoff E, Hoelscher M, Olbrich L, Castelletti N, Wieser A. Studying temporal titre evolution of commercial SARS-CoV-2 assays reveals significant shortcomings of using BAU standardization for comparison. Virol J 2023; 20:200. [PMID: 37658454 PMCID: PMC10474769 DOI: 10.1186/s12985-023-02167-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Measuring specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies has become one of the main epidemiological tools to survey the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but also vaccination response. The WHO made available a set of well-characterized samples derived from recovered individuals to allow normalization between different quantitative anti-Spike assays to defined Binding Antibody Units (BAU). METHODS To assess sero-responses longitudinally, a cohort of ninety-nine SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive subjects was followed up together with forty-five vaccinees without previous infection but with two vaccinations. Sero-responses were evaluated using a total of six different assays: four measuring anti-Spike proteins (converted to BAU), one measuring anti-Nucleocapsid proteins and one SARS-CoV-2 surrogate virus neutralization. Both cohorts were evaluated using the Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2-ELISA anti-S1 IgG and the Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 anti-S1 assay. RESULTS In SARS-CoV-2-convalesce subjects, the BAU-sero-responses of Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2-ELISA anti-S1 IgG and Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 anti-S1 peaked both at 47 (43-51) days, the first assay followed by a slow decay thereafter (> 208 days), while the second assay not presenting any decay within one year. Both assay values in BAUs are only equivalent a few months after infection, elsewhere correction factors up to 10 are necessary. In contrast, in infection-naive vaccinees the assays perform similarly. CONCLUSION The results of our study suggest that the establishment of a protective correlate or vaccination booster recommendation based on different assays, although BAU-standardised, is still challenging. At the moment the characteristics of the available assays used are not related, and the BAU-standardisation is unable to correct for that.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inge Kroidl
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Simon Winter
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Raquel Rubio-Acero
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Max-von-Pettenkofer Institute, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Abhishek Bakuli
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Christof Geldmacher
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Tabea M Eser
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Flora Déak
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Sacha Horn
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Zielke
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Mohamed I M Ahmed
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Paulina Diepers
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Jessica Guggenbühl
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Jonathan Frese
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Jan Bruger
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Kerstin Puchinger
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Jakob Reich
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Philine Falk
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Alisa Markgraf
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Heike Fensterseifer
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Ivana Paunovic
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Max-von-Pettenkofer Institute, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Türkenstraße 87, 80799, Munich, Germany
| | - Angelika Thomschke
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Pritsch
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Friedrich Riess
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Elmar Saathoff
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Hoelscher
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Türkenstraße 87, 80799, Munich, Germany
- Center for International Health (CIH), University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Olbrich
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Noemi Castelletti
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Türkenstraße 87, 80799, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Andreas Wieser
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany.
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Max-von-Pettenkofer Institute, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research, Türkenstraße 87, 80799, Munich, Germany.
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Shuai H, Chan JFW, Hu B, Chai Y, Yoon C, Liu H, Liu Y, Shi J, Zhu T, Hu JC, Hu YF, Hou Y, Huang X, Yuen TTT, Wang Y, Zhang J, Xia Y, Chen LL, Cai JP, Zhang AJ, Yuan S, Zhou J, Zhang BZ, Huang JD, Yuen KY, To KKW, Chu H. The viral fitness and intrinsic pathogenicity of dominant SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5. EBioMedicine 2023; 95:104753. [PMID: 37579626 PMCID: PMC10448076 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [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: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Among the Omicron sublineages that have emerged, BA.1, BA.2, BA.5, and their related sublineages have resulted in the largest number of infections. While recent studies demonstrated that all Omicron sublineages robustly escape neutralizing antibody response, it remains unclear on whether these Omicron sublineages share any pattern of evolutionary trajectory on their replication efficiency and intrinsic pathogenicity along the respiratory tract. METHODS We compared the virological features, replication capacity of dominant Omicron sublineages BA.1, BA.2 and BA.5 in the human nasal epithelium, and characterized their pathogenicity in K18-hACE2, A129, young C57BL/6, and aged C57BL/6 mice. FINDINGS We found that BA.5 replicated most robustly, followed by BA.2 and BA.1, in the differentiated human nasal epithelium. Consistently, BA.5 infection resulted in higher viral gene copies, infectious viral titres and more abundant viral antigen expression in the nasal turbinates of the infected K18-hACE2 transgenic mice. In contrast, the Omicron sublineages are continuously attenuated in lungs of infected K18-hACE2 and C57BL/6 mice, leading to decreased pathogenicity. Nevertheless, lung manifestations remain severe in Omicron sublineages-infected A129 and aged C57BL/6 mice. INTERPRETATION Our results suggested that the Omicron sublineages might be gaining intrinsic replication fitness in the upper respiratory tract, therefore highlighting the importance of global surveillance of the emergence of hyper-transmissive Omicron sublineages. On the contrary, replication and intrinsic pathogenicity of Omicron is suggested to be further attenuated in the lower respiratory tract. Effective vaccination and other precautions should be in place to prevent severe infections in the immunocompromised populations at risk. FUNDING A full list of funding bodies that contributed to this study can be found in the Acknowledgements section.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiping Shuai
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Infectious Disease and Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Academician Workstation of Hainan Province, Hainan Medical University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Tropical Infectious Diseases, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China; and The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Guangzhou Laboratory, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Bingjie Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Yue Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Chaemin Yoon
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Huan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Yuanchen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jialu Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Tianrenzheng Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jing-Chu Hu
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Ye-Fan Hu
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Yuxin Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Xiner Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Terrence Tsz-Tai Yuen
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Yang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jinjin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Yao Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Lin-Lei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jian-Piao Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Anna Jinxia Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Shuofeng Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Infectious Disease and Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jie Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Bao-Zhong Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Jian-Dong Huang
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Kwok-Yung Yuen
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Infectious Disease and Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Academician Workstation of Hainan Province, Hainan Medical University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Tropical Infectious Diseases, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China; and The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Guangzhou Laboratory, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Kelvin Kai-Wang To
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Infectious Disease and Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Guangzhou Laboratory, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Hin Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Infectious Disease and Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China; Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
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Llewellyn GN, Chen HY, Rogers GL, Huang X, Sell PJ, Henley JE, Cannon PM. Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors based on ACE2 receptor or engineered Spike-binding peptides. J Virol 2023; 97:e0068423. [PMID: 37555663 PMCID: PMC10506483 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00684-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
With increasing resistance of SARS-CoV-2 variants to antibodies, there is interest in developing entry inhibitors that target essential receptor-binding regions of the viral Spike protein and thereby present a high bar for viral resistance. Such inhibitors could be derivatives of the viral receptor, ACE2, or peptides engineered to interact specifically with the Spike receptor-binding pocket. We compared the efficacy of a series of both types of entry inhibitors, constructed as fusions to an antibody Fc domain. Such a design can increase protein stability and act to both neutralize free virus and recruit effector functions to clear infected cells. We tested the reagents against prototype variants of SARS-CoV-2, using both Spike pseudotyped vesicular stomatitis virus vectors and replication-competent viruses. These analyses revealed that an optimized ACE2 derivative could neutralize all variants we tested with high efficacy. In contrast, the Spike-binding peptides had varying activities against different variants, with resistance observed in the Spike proteins from Beta, Gamma, and Omicron (BA.1 and BA.5). The resistance mapped to mutations at Spike residues K417 and N501 and could be overcome for one of the peptides by linking two copies in tandem, effectively creating a tetrameric reagent in the Fc fusion. Finally, both the optimized ACE2 and tetrameric peptide inhibitors provided some protection to human ACE2 transgenic mice challenged with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, which typically causes death in this model within 7-9 days. IMPORTANCE The increasing resistance of SARS-CoV-2 variants to therapeutic antibodies has highlighted the need for new treatment options, especially in individuals who do not respond to vaccination. Receptor decoys that block viral entry are an attractive approach because of the presumed high bar to developing viral resistance. Here, we compare two entry inhibitors based on derivatives of the ACE2 receptor, or engineered peptides that bind to the receptor-binding pocket of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. In each case, the inhibitors were fused to immunoglobulin Fc domains, which can further enhance therapeutic properties, and compared for activity against different SARS-CoV-2 variants. Potent inhibition against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants was demonstrated in vitro, and even relatively low single doses of optimized reagents provided some protection in a mouse model, confirming their potential as an alternative to antibody therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- George N. Llewellyn
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hsu-Yu Chen
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Geoffrey L. Rogers
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Xiaoli Huang
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Philip J. Sell
- The Hastings Foundation and The Wright Foundation Laboratories, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jill E. Henley
- The Hastings Foundation and The Wright Foundation Laboratories, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Paula M. Cannon
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Talotta R. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines as hypothetical epigenetic players: Results from an in silico analysis, considerations and perspectives. Vaccine 2023; 41:5182-5194. [PMID: 37453842 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.07.007] [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: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate in silico the occurrence of epigenetic crosstalk by nucleotide sequence complementarity between the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine and whole human genome, including coding and noncoding (nc)RNA genes. To correlate these results with those obtained with the original spike (S) gene of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). METHODS The publicly available FASTA sequence of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine and the SARS-CoV-2 isolate Wuhan-Hu-1 S gene (NC_045512.2) were used separately as key input to the Ensembl.org library to evaluate base pair match to human GRCh38 genome. Human coding and noncoding genes harboring hits were assessed for functional activity and health effects using bioinformatics tools and GWAS databases. RESULTS The BLAT analysis against the human GRCh38 genome revealed a total of 37 hits for BNT162b2 mRNA and no hits for the SARS-CoV-2 S gene. More specifically, BNT162b2 mRNA matched 19 human genes whose protein products are variously involved in enzyme reactions, nucleotide or cation binding, signaling, and carrier functions. In BLASTN analysis of ncRNA genes, BNT162b2 mRNA and SARS-CoV-2 S gene matched 17 and 24 different human genomic regions, respectively. Overall, characterization of the matched noncoding sequences revealed stronger interference with epigenetic pathways for BNT162b2 mRNA compared with the original S gene. CONCLUSION This pivotal in silico analysis shows that SARS-CoV-2 S gene and the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine exhibit Watson-Crick nucleotide complementarity with human coding or noncoding genes. Although they do not share the same complementarity pattern, both may disrupt epigenetic mechanisms in target cells, potentially leading to long-term complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossella Talotta
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Rheumatology Unit, AOU "Gaetano Martino", University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
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31
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Mishra S, Sharma S. Temporal dynamics of endophytic bacterial and fungal communities during spike development in Piper longum L. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2023; 29:1117-1134. [PMID: 37829705 PMCID: PMC10564784 DOI: 10.1007/s12298-023-01352-2] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
The female spikes (fruits) of Piper longum are widely used in Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicine systems to treat respiratory and digestive disorders. The spikes are rich in piperine, a pharmacologically active amide alkaloid and a potent bioavailability enhancer, which accumulates to the highest level during the dark-green stage of spike development. Plant-associated microbiota influence the plant's fitness, response, and production of economically important metabolites. Considering the economic importance of piperine and other spike-derived alkaloids, understanding microbial community dynamics during spike development would be key to bioprospecting for economically important metabolites. In the present study, the structural diversity of microbial communities associated with early (SI), mid (SII), and late (SIII) stages of spike development in P. longum has been analysed by Illumina-based amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA gene and ITS region. Results revealed that spike development significantly drives the diversity and abundance of spike-associated microbiota, especially bacterial communities. Cyanobacteria and Ascomycota constituted the most abundant bacterial and fungal phyla, respectively, across all stages of spike development. Interestingly, Halomonas, Kushneria and Haererehalobacter were found to be exclusively associated with SIII (corresponding to economically important) stage of spike development. Sphingomonas, Mortierella, Cladosporium and Vishniacozyma constituted the core microbiome of the spike. Besides, PICRUSt analysis revealed that amino acid metabolism was the most dominant metabolic function attributed to spike-associated bacterial communities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the endomicrobiome dynamics during spike development in a medicinal plant species. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-023-01352-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sushma Mishra
- Department of Botany, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226007 India
| | - Shilpi Sharma
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi 110016 India
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32
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Focosi D, Maggi F. Respiratory delivery of passive immunotherapies for SARS-CoV-2 prophylaxis and therapy. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2023; 19:2260040. [PMID: 37799070 PMCID: PMC10561570 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2023.2260040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Convalescent plasma has been extensively tested during the COVID-19 pandemic as a transfusion product. Similarly, monoclonal antibodies have been largely administered either intravenously or intramuscularly. Nevertheless, when used against a respiratory pathogen, respiratory delivery is preferable to maximize the amount of antibody that reaches the entry door in order to prevent sustained viral multiplication. In this narrative review, we review the different types of inhalation device and summarize evidence from animal models and early clinical trials supporting the respiratory delivery (for either prophylactic or therapeutic purposes) of convalescent plasma or monoclonal antibodies (either full antibodies, single-chain variable fragments, or camelid-derived monoclonal heavy-chain only antibodies). Preliminary evidences from animal models suggest similar safety and noninferior efficacy, but efficacy evaluation from clinical trials is still limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Focosi
- North-Western Tuscany Blood Bank, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Maggi
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani IRCCS”, Rome, Italy
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33
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Kim IJ, Lee YH, Khalid MM, Chen IP, Zhang Y, Ott M, Verdin E. SARS-CoV-2 protein ORF8 limits expression levels of Spike antigen and facilitates immune evasion of infected host cells. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:104955. [PMID: 37354973 PMCID: PMC10289268 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Recovery from COVID-19 depends on the ability of the host to effectively neutralize virions and infected cells, a process largely driven by antibody-mediated immunity. However, with the newly emerging variants that evade Spike-targeting antibodies, re-infections and breakthrough infections are increasingly common. A full characterization of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mechanisms counteracting antibody-mediated immunity is therefore needed. Here, we report that ORF8 is a virally encoded SARS-CoV-2 factor that controls cellular Spike antigen levels. We show that ORF8 limits the availability of mature Spike by inhibiting host protein synthesis and retaining Spike at the endoplasmic reticulum, reducing cell-surface Spike levels and recognition by anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. In conditions of limited Spike availability, we found ORF8 restricts Spike incorporation during viral assembly, reducing Spike levels in virions. Cell entry of these virions then leaves fewer Spike molecules at the cell surface, limiting antibody recognition of infected cells. Based on these findings, we propose that SARS-CoV-2 variants may adopt an ORF8-dependent strategy that facilitates immune evasion of infected cells for extended viral production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ik-Jung Kim
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, California, United States.
| | - Yong-Ho Lee
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, California, United States; Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Mir M Khalid
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, California, United States; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States
| | - Irene P Chen
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, California, United States; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States
| | - Yini Zhang
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, California, United States
| | - Melanie Ott
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, California, United States; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, California, United States
| | - Eric Verdin
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, California, United States.
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Vaddadi K, Gandikota C, Huang C, Liang Y, Liu L. Cellular microRNAs target SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and restrict viral replication. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 2023. [PMID: 37399496 PMCID: PMC10390048 DOI: 10.1152/ajpcell.00516.2022] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally and are implicated in viral replication and host tropism. miRNAs can impact the viruses either by directly interacting with the viral genome or modulating host factors. Although many miRNAs have predicted binding sites in the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral RNA genome, little experimental validation has been done. We first identified 492 miRNAs that have binding site(s) on the spike (S) viral RNA by a bioinformatics prediction. We then validated the selected 39 miRNAs by examining S-protein levels after co-expressing the S-protein and a miRNA into the cells. Seven miRNAs were found to reduce the S-protein levels more than 50%. Among them, miR-15a, miR-153, miR-298, miR-508, miR-1909 and miR-3130 also significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 viral replication. SARS-CoV-2 infection decreased the expression levels of miR-298, miR-497, miR-508, miR-1909, and miR-3130, but had no significant effects on miR-15a and miR-153 levels. Intriguingly, the targeting sequences of these miRNAs on the S viral RNA showed sequence conservation among the variants of concern. Our results suggest that these miRNAs elicit effective antiviral defense against SARS-CoV-2 by modulating S-protein expression and are likely targeting all the variants. Thus, the data signifies the therapeutic potential of miRNA-based therapy for SARS-CoV-2 infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kishore Vaddadi
- Physiological Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States
| | - Chaitanya Gandikota
- Oklahoma Center for Respiratory and Infectious Diseases, Oklahoma State University, Sillwater, Oklahoma, United States
| | - Chaoqun Huang
- Oklahoma Center for Respiratory and Infectious Diseases, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States
| | - Yurong Liang
- Oklahoma Center for Respiratory and Infectious Diseases, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States
| | - Lin Liu
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, United States
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Arefinia N, Yaghobi R, Ramezani A, Sarvari J. Sequence Analysis of Hot Spot Regions of Spike and RNA-dependent-RNA polymerase (RdRp) Genes of SARS-CoV-2 in Kerman, Iran. Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2023; 15:e2023042. [PMID: 37435034 PMCID: PMC10332355 DOI: 10.4084/mjhid.2023.042] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome might influence pathogenicity, transmission rate, and evasion of the host immune system. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the genetic alteration as well as assess their effects on the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike and the putative RNA binding site of the RdRp genes of SARS-CoV-2 using bioinformatics tools. Materials and Method In this cross-sectional study, 45 confirmed COVID-19 patients using qRT-PCR were included and divided into mild, severe, and critical groups based on the severity of the disease. RNA was extracted from nasopharyngeal swab samples using a commercial kit. RT-PCR was performed to amplify the target sequences of the spike and RdRp genes and sequence them by the Sanger method. Clustal OMEGA, MEGA 11 software, I-mutant tools, SWISS-MODEL, and HDOCK web servers were used for bioinformatics analyses. Results The mean age of the patients was 50.68±2.73. The results showed that four of six mutations (L452R, T478K, N501Y, and D614G) in RBD and three of eight in the putative RNA binding site (P314L, E1084D, V1883T) were missense. In the putative RNA binding site, another deletion was discovered. Among missense mutations, N501Y and V1883T were responsible for increasing structural stability, while others were responsible for decreasing it. The various homology models designed showed that these homologies were like the Wuhan model. The molecular docking analysis revealed that the T478K mutation in RBD had the highest binding affinity. In addition, 35 RBD samples (89.7%) and 33 putative RNA binding site samples (84.6%) were similar to the Delta variant. Conclusion Our results indicated that double mutations (T478K and N501Y) in the S protein might increase the binding affinity of SARS-CoV-2 to human ACE2 compared to the wild-type (WT) strain. Moreover, variations in the spike and RdRp genes might influence the stability of encoded proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasir Arefinia
- Department of Bacteriology and Virology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- School of Medicine, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, Iran
| | - Ramin Yaghobi
- Shiraz Transplant Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Amin Ramezani
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Jamal Sarvari
- Department of Bacteriology and Virology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Gastroenterohepatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
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Hickey TE, Kemp TJ, Bullock J, Bouk A, Metz J, Neish A, Cherry J, Lowy DR, Pinto LA. SARS-CoV-2 IgG Spike antibody levels and avidity in natural infection or following vaccination with mRNA-1273 or BNT162b2 vaccines. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2023:2215677. [PMID: 37264688 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2023.2215677] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Certain aspects of the immunogenicity and effectiveness of the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines (mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2) developed in response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic are still uncharacterized. Serum or plasma samples from healthy donor recipients of either vaccine (BNT162b2 n = 53, mRNA-1273 n = 49; age 23-67), and individuals naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2 (n = 106; age 18-82) were collected 0-2 months post-infection or 1- and 4 months after second dose of vaccination. Anti-Spike antibody levels and avidity were measured via an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Overall, vaccination induced higher circulating anti-Spike protein immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels and avidity compared to infection at similar time intervals. Both vaccines produced similar anti-Spike IgG concentrations at 1 month, while mRNA-1273 demonstrated significantly higher circulating antibody concentrations after 4 months. mRNA-1273 induced significantly higher avidity at month 1 compared to BNT162b2 across all age groups. However, the 23-34 age group was the only group to maintain statistical significance by 4 months. Male BNT162b2 recipients were approaching statistically significant lower anti-Spike IgG avidity compared to females by month 4. These findings demonstrate enhanced anti-Spike IgG levels and avidity following vaccination compared to natural infection. In addition, the mRNA-1273 vaccine induced higher antibody levels by 4 months compared to BNT162b2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E Hickey
- Vaccine, Immunity and Cancer Directorate, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Troy J Kemp
- Vaccine, Immunity and Cancer Directorate, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Jimmie Bullock
- Vaccine, Immunity and Cancer Directorate, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Aaron Bouk
- Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Jordan Metz
- Vaccine, Immunity and Cancer Directorate, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Abigail Neish
- Protein Expression Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - James Cherry
- Research Technologies Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Douglas R Lowy
- Laboratory of Cellular Oncology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ligia A Pinto
- Vaccine, Immunity and Cancer Directorate, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA
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Boler M, Anderson M, Rodgers M, Parumoottil J, Olivo A, Harris B, Stec M, Gosha A, Behun D, Holzmayer V, Anderson A, Greenholt E, Fortney T, Almaraz E, Cloherty G, Landay A, Moy J. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after confirmed Omicron BA.1 and presumed BA.4/5 infections using Abbott ARCHITECT and Panbio assays. IJID Reg 2023; 7:277-280. [PMID: 37234563 PMCID: PMC10174724 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Background Commercial severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody tests were developed before variants with spike protein mutations emerged, leading to concerns that these tests have reduced sensitivity for detecting antibody responses in individuals infected with Omicron subvariants. This study was performed to evaluate Abbott ARCHITECT serologic assays, AdviseDx SARS-CoV-2 IgG II, and SARS-CoV-2 IgG for the detection of spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) IgG antibody increases in vaccinated healthcare workers infected with Omicron subvariants. Methods During the BA.1/2 and BA.4/5 waves, 171 SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals (122 in the BA.1/2 wave, 49 in the BA.4/5 wave) were tested for S and N IgG post infection. Sequencing and SARS-CoV-2 variant confirmation were performed on nasal swab samples from individuals infected during the BA.1/2 wave. Results Twenty-seven Omicron sequence confirmed individuals in the BA.1/2 wave and all 49 in the BA.4/5 wave had pre-infection antibody data. Compared to pre-infection levels, post-infection S IgG increased 6.6-fold from 1294 ± 302 BAU/ml (mean ± standard error measurement) to 9796 ± 1252 BAU/ml (P < 0.001) during the BA.1/2 wave, and 3.6-fold from 1771 ± 351 BAU/ml to 8224 ± 943 BAU/ml (P < 0.001) during the BA.4/5 wave. N IgG increased post infection 19.1-fold from 0.2 ± 0.1 to 3.7 ± 0.5 (P < 0.001) during the BA.1/2 wave and 13.5-fold from 0.22 ± 0.1 to 3.2 ± 0.3 (P < 0.001) during the BA.4/5 wave. Among 159 infection-naïve individuals, positive N IgG levels were detected with a sensitivity of 88% in the 87 individuals who were tested between 14 days and 60 days post infection. Conclusions The large increases in post-infection S IgG along with the N IgG sensitivity that was comparable to previously reported N IgG sensitivity data in unvaccinated individuals after Omicron infection, support the use of Abbott SARS-CoV-2 assays for detecting increased S IgG and seroconversion of N IgG in vaccinated individuals post Omicron infection. Given that 68% of the United States population is fully vaccinated, these results are of current relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Boler
- Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W Harrison Street Suite 739, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Mark Anderson
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Mary Rodgers
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Jessica Parumoottil
- Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W Harrison Street Suite 739, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Ana Olivo
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Barbara Harris
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Michael Stec
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Amy Gosha
- Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W Harrison Street Suite 739, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Dylan Behun
- Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W Harrison Street Suite 739, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Vera Holzmayer
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Abby Anderson
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Ella Greenholt
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Tiffany Fortney
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Eduardo Almaraz
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Gavin Cloherty
- Abbott Laboratories, 100 Abbott Park Rd, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA
| | - Alan Landay
- Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W Harrison Street Suite 739, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - James Moy
- Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W Harrison Street Suite 739, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
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Kuzmina A, Korovin D, Cohen Lass I, Atari N, Ottolenghi A, Hu P, Mandelboim M, Rosental B, Rosenberg E, Diaz-Griffero F, Taube R. Changes within the P681 residue of spike dictate cell fusion and syncytia formation of Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 with no effects on neutralization or infectivity. Heliyon 2023; 9:e16750. [PMID: 37292300 PMCID: PMC10238279 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16750] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The rapid spread and dominance of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 lineages have posed severe health challenges worldwide. While extensive research on the role of the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) in promoting viral infectivity and vaccine sensitivity has been well documented, the functional significance of the 681PRRAR/SV687 polybasic motif of the viral spike is less clear. In this work, we monitored the infectivity levels and neutralization potential of the wild-type human coronavirus 2019 (hCoV-19), Delta, and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses against sera samples drawn four months post administration of a third dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Our findings show that in comparison to hCoV-19 and Delta SARS-CoV-2, Omicron lineages BA.1 and BA.2 exhibit enhanced infectivity and a sharp decline in their sensitivity to vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies. Interestingly, P681 mutations within the viral spike do not play a role in the neutralization potential or infectivity of SARS Cov-2 pseudoviruses carrying mutations in this position. The P681 residue however, dictates the ability of the spike protein to promote fusion and syncytia formation between infected cells. While spike from hCoV-19 (P681) and Omicron (H681) promote only modest cell fusion and formation of syncytia between cells that express the spike-protein, Delta spike (R681) displays enhanced fusogenic activity and promotes syncytia formation. Additional analysis shows that a single P681R mutation within the hCoV-19 spike, or H681R within the Omicron spike, restores fusion potential to similar levels observed for the Delta R681 spike. Conversely, R681P point mutation within the spike of Delta pseudovirus abolishes efficient fusion and syncytia formation. Our investigation also demonstrates that spike proteins from hCoV-19 and Delta SARS-CoV-2 are efficiently incorporated into viral particles relative to the spike of Omicron lineages. We conclude that the third dose of the Pfizer-BNT162b2 provides appreciable protection against the newly emerged Omicron sub-lineages. However, the neutralization sensitivity of these new variants is diminished relative to that of the hCoV-19 or Delta SARS-CoV-2. We further show that the P681 residue within spike dictates cell fusion and syncytia formation with no effects on the infectivity of the specific viral variant and on its sensitivity to vaccine-mediated neutralization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alona Kuzmina
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology Immunology and Genetics Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
| | - Dina Korovin
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology Immunology and Genetics Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
| | - Ido Cohen Lass
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology Immunology and Genetics Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
| | - Nofar Atari
- Central Virology Laboratory, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health and Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel
| | - Aner Ottolenghi
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology Immunology and Genetics Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
- Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research Center, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
| | - Pan Hu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Michal Mandelboim
- Central Virology Laboratory, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health and Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Benyamin Rosental
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology Immunology and Genetics Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
- Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research Center, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
| | | | - Felipe Diaz-Griffero
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Ran Taube
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology Immunology and Genetics Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
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Van Slambrouck J, Khan M, Verbeken E, Choi S, Geudens V, Vanluyten C, Feys S, Vanhulle E, Wollants E, Vermeire K, De Fays C, Aversa L, Kaes J, Van Raemdonck D, Vos R, Vanaudenaerde B, De Hertogh G, Wauters E, Wauters J, Ceulemans LJ, Mombaerts P. Visualising SARS-CoV-2 infection of the lung in deceased COVID-19 patients. EBioMedicine 2023; 92:104608. [PMID: 37224768 PMCID: PMC10202122 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104608] [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: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus. Several negative-sense SARS-CoV-2 RNA species, both full-length genomic and subgenomic, are produced transiently during viral replication. Methodologies for rigorously characterising cell tropism and visualising ongoing viral replication at single-cell resolution in histological sections are needed to assess the virological and pathological phenotypes of future SARS-CoV-2 variants. We aimed to provide a robust methodology for examining the human lung, the major target organ of this RNA virus. METHODS A prospective cohort study took place at the University Hospitals Leuven in Leuven, Belgium. Lung samples were procured postmortem from 22 patients who died from or with COVID-19. Tissue sections were fluorescently stained with the ultrasensitive single-molecule RNA in situ hybridisation platform of RNAscope combined with immunohistochemistry followed by confocal imaging. FINDINGS We visualised perinuclear RNAscope signal for negative-sense SARS-CoV-2 RNA species in ciliated cells of the bronchiolar epithelium of a patient who died with COVID-19 in the hyperacute phase of the infection, and in ciliated cells of a primary culture of human airway epithelium that had been infected experimentally with SARS-CoV-2. In patients who died between 5 and 13 days after diagnosis of the infection, we detected RNAscope signal for positive-sense but not for negative-sense SARS-CoV-2 RNA species in pneumocytes, macrophages, and among debris in the alveoli. SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels decreased after a disease course of 2-3 weeks, concomitant with a histopathological change from exudative to fibroproliferative diffuse alveolar damage. Taken together, our confocal images illustrate the complexities stemming from traditional approaches in the literature to characterise cell tropism and visualise ongoing viral replication solely by the surrogate parameters of nucleocapsid-immunoreactive signal or in situ hybridisation for positive-sense SARS-CoV-2 RNA species. INTERPRETATION Confocal imaging of human lung sections stained fluorescently with commercially available RNAscope probes for negative-sense SARS-CoV-2 RNA species enables the visualisation of viral replication at single-cell resolution during the acute phase of the infection in COVID-19. This methodology will be valuable for research on future SARS-CoV-2 variants and other respiratory viruses. FUNDING Max Planck Society, Coronafonds UZ/KU Leuven, European Society for Organ Transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Van Slambrouck
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Mona Khan
- Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Erik Verbeken
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sumin Choi
- Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Vincent Geudens
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Cedric Vanluyten
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simon Feys
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Medical Intensive Care Unit, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Emiel Vanhulle
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Elke Wollants
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kurt Vermeire
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Charlotte De Fays
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Pole of Pneumology, ENT, and Dermatology, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Lucia Aversa
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Janne Kaes
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dirk Van Raemdonck
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Robin Vos
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Respiratory Diseases, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Vanaudenaerde
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Gert De Hertogh
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Els Wauters
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Respiratory Diseases, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Joost Wauters
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Medical Intensive Care Unit, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Laurens J Ceulemans
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Peter Mombaerts
- Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics, Frankfurt, Germany.
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Abduljalil JM, Elghareib AM, Samir A, Ezat AA, Elfiky AA. How helpful were molecular dynamics simulations in shaping our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein dynamics? Int J Biol Macromol 2023:125153. [PMID: 37268078 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.125153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S) represents an important viral component that is required for successful viral infection in humans owing to its essential role in recognition of and entry to host cells. The spike is also an appealing target for drug designers who develop vaccines and antivirals. This article is important as it summarizes how molecular simulations successfully shaped our understanding of spike conformational behavior and its role in viral infection. MD simulations found that the higher affinity of SARS-CoV-2-S to ACE2 is linked to its unique residues that add extra electrostatic and van der Waal interactions in comparison to the SARS-CoV S. This illustrates the spread potential of the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 relative to the epidemic SARS-CoV. Different mutations at the S-ACE2 interface, which is believed to increase the transmission of the new variants, affected the behavior and binding interactions in different simulations. The contributions of glycans to the opening of S were revealed via simulations. The immune evasion of S was linked to the spatial distribution of glycans. This help the virus to escape the immune system recognition. This article is important as it summarizes how molecular simulations successfully shaped our understanding of spike conformational behavior and its role in viral infection. This will pave the way to us preparing for the next pandemic as the computational tools are tailored to help fight new challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jameel M Abduljalil
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Thamar University, Dhamar, Yemen; Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M Elghareib
- Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Ahmed Samir
- Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Ahmed A Ezat
- Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Abdo A Elfiky
- Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
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Gazali FM, Wijayanti N, Hakim MS, Supriyati E, Arguni E, Daniwijaya MEW, Nuryastuti T, Nuhamunada M, Nabilla R, Haryana SM, Wibawa T. The high mutation rate at the D614G hotspot-furin cleavage site region increases the priming efficiency of the Spike protein by furin protease: analysis of Indonesian SARS-CoV-2 G614 variants obtained during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Virusdisease 2023:1-10. [PMID: 37363361 PMCID: PMC10231289 DOI: 10.1007/s13337-023-00827-w] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
D614G mutation plays a significant role in the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2. Identification of other mutations related to D614G mutation within the Spike protein is pivotal as they might contribute to the pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2. This study aims to analyze the mutation rate of furin cleavage site (FCS) region of Indonesian origin SARS-CoV-2 and to predict the effect of mutation against Spike priming efficiency by furin. A total of 375 sequences of Indonesian isolates obtained during the early pandemic were used for mutation analysis. Mutation analysis includes mutation pattern, variability, frequency of mutation, amino acid conservation, and mutation rate. The effect of mutation against Spike priming efficiency by furin protease from eight sequences with mutation in the FCS region was analyzed by protein-protein docking. We showed that mutations related to the G614 variant were increasing through time, in contrast to the D614 variant. The FCS region at the position 675-692 contained the most variable (66.67%) as well as the highest mutation frequency (85.92%) and has been observed to be the hotspot mutations linked to the D614G mutation. The D614G hotspot-FCS region (residue 600-700) had the highest amino acid change per site (20.8%) as well as the highest mutation rate as 1.34 × 10-2 substitution per site per year (95% CI 1.79 × 10-3-2.74 × 10-2), compared with other Spike protein regions. Mutations in the FCS region were the most common mutation found after the D614G mutation. These mutations were predicted to increase the Spike priming efficiency by furin. Thus, this study elucidates the importance of D614G mutation to other mutations located in the FCS region and their significance to Spike priming efficiency by furin. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13337-023-00827-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faris Muhammad Gazali
- Master Program in Biotechnology, Postgraduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Nastiti Wijayanti
- Animal Physiology Laboratory, Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Mohamad Saifudin Hakim
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Endah Supriyati
- Centre for Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Eggi Arguni
- Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | | | - Titik Nuryastuti
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Matin Nuhamunada
- Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Rahma Nabilla
- Graduate Program in Biology, Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Sofia Mubarika Haryana
- Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Tri Wibawa
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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Alanzi AR, Parvez MK, Al-Dosari MS. Structure-based virtual identification of natural inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 and its Delta and Omicron variant proteins. Future Virol 2023; 18:421-438. [PMID: 38051986 PMCID: PMC10241455 DOI: 10.2217/fvl-2022-0184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Aim Structure-based identification of natural compounds against SARS-CoV-2, Delta and Omicron target proteins. Materials & methods Several known antiviral natural compounds were subjected to molecular docking and MD simulation against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, Helicase and Spike, including Delta and Omicron Spikes. Results Of the docked ligands, 20 selected for each complex exhibited overall good binding affinities (-7.79 to -5.06 kcal/mol) with acceptable physiochemistry following Lipinski's rule. Finally, two best ligands from each complex upon simulation showed structural stability and compactness. Conclusion Quercetin-3-acetyl-glucoside, Rutin, Kaempferol, Catechin, Orientin, Obetrioside and Neridienone A were identified as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, Helicase and Spike, while Orientin and Obetrioside also showed good binding affinities with Omicron Spike. Catechin and Neridienone A formed stable complexes with Delta Spike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdullah R Alanzi
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammad K Parvez
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed S Al-Dosari
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
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Garay E, Fontana D, Villarraza J, Fuselli A, Gugliotta A, Antuña S, Tardivo B, Rodríguez MC, Gastaldi V, Battagliotti JM, Alvarez D, Castro E, Cassataro J, Ceaglio N, Prieto C. Design and characterization of chimeric Rabies-SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles for vaccine purposes. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 107:3495-3508. [PMID: 37126083 PMCID: PMC10150342 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12545-w] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Due to the high number of doses required to achieve adequate coverage in the context of COVID-19 pandemics, there is a great need for novel vaccine developments. In this field, there have been research approaches that focused on the production of SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles. These are promising vaccine candidates as their structure is similar to that of native virions but they lack the genome, constituting a biosafe alternative. In order to produce these structures using mammal cells, it has been established that all four structural proteins must be expressed. Here we report the generation and characterization of a novel chimeric virus-like particle (VLP) that can be produced by the expression of a single novel fusion protein that contains SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) ectodomain fused to rabies glycoprotein membrane anchoring region in HEK293 cells. This protein is structurally similar to native S and can autonomously bud forming enveloped VLPs that resemble native virions both in size and in morphology, displaying S ectodomain and receptor binding domain (RBD) on their surface. As a proof of concept, we analyzed the immunogenicity of this vaccine candidate in mice and confirmed the generation of anti-S, anti-RBD, and neutralizing antibodies. KEY POINTS: • A novel fusion rabies glycoprotein containing S ectodomain was designed. • Fusion protein formed cVLPs that were morphologically similar to SARS-CoV-2 virions. • cVLPs induced anti-S, anti-RBD, and neutralizing antibodies in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernesto Garay
- UNL, CONICET, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Diego Fontana
- UNL, CONICET, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina.
| | - Javier Villarraza
- UNL, CONICET, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Antonela Fuselli
- UNL, CONICET, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Agustina Gugliotta
- UNL, CONICET, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Sebastián Antuña
- Biotecnofe S.A. PTLC, Ruta 168 (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Belén Tardivo
- Biotecnofe S.A. PTLC, Ruta 168 (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - María Celeste Rodríguez
- UNL, CONICET, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Victoria Gastaldi
- UNL, CONICET, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
- Biotecnofe S.A. PTLC, Ruta 168 (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Juan Manuel Battagliotti
- UNL, CONICET, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Diego Alvarez
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Rodolfo A. Ugalde" UNSAM-CONICET, Pcia. Buenos Aires, San Martin, Argentina
| | - Eliana Castro
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Rodolfo A. Ugalde" UNSAM-CONICET, Pcia. Buenos Aires, San Martin, Argentina
| | - Juliana Cassataro
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Rodolfo A. Ugalde" UNSAM-CONICET, Pcia. Buenos Aires, San Martin, Argentina
| | - Natalia Ceaglio
- UNL, CONICET, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Claudio Prieto
- Biotecnofe S.A. PTLC, Ruta 168 (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
- UNL, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences), CBL (Biotechnological Center of Litoral), Ciudad Universitaria, Ruta Nacional 168 - Km 472.4 - C.C. 242 - (S3000ZAA) Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina
- Cellargen Biotech SRL, FBCB (School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences) Biotechnological Development Laboratory, Ciudad Universitaria UNL, (S3000ZAA), Santa Fe, Argentina
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Palakkott AR, Alneyadi A, Muhammad K, Eid AH, Amiri KMA, Akli Ayoub M, Iratni R. The SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Activates the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Mediated Signaling. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:768. [PMID: 37112680 PMCID: PMC10141239 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11040768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). At the molecular and cellular levels, the SARS-CoV-2 uses its envelope glycoprotein, the spike S protein, to infect the target cells in the lungs via binding with their transmembrane receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Here, we wanted to investigate if other molecular targets and pathways may be used by SARS-CoV-2. We investigated the possibility of the spike 1 S protein and its receptor-binding domain (RBD) to target the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its downstream signaling pathway in vitro using the lung cancer cell line (A549 cells). Protein expression and phosphorylation were examined upon cell treatment with the recombinant full spike 1 S protein or RBD. We demonstrate for the first time the activation of EGFR by the Spike 1 protein associated with the phosphorylation of the canonical Extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) and AKT kinases and an increase in survivin expression controlling the survival pathway. Our study suggests the putative implication of EGFR and its related signaling pathways in SARS-CoV-2 infectivity and COVID-19 pathology. This may open new perspectives in the treatment of COVID-19 patients by targeting EGFR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdul Rasheed Palakkott
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Aysha Alneyadi
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Khalid Muhammad
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Ali Hussein Eid
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
| | - Khaled M. A. Amiri
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates
- Khalifa Center for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mohammed Akli Ayoub
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Rabah Iratni
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates
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Remesh SG, Merz GE, Brilot AF, Chio US, Rizo AN, Pospiech TH, Lui I, Laurie MT, Glasgow J, Le CQ, Zhang Y, Diwanji D, Hernandez E, Lopez J, Mehmood H, Pawar KI, Pourmal S, Smith AM, Zhou F, DeRisi J, Kortemme T, Rosenberg OS, Glasgow A, Leung KK, Wells JA, Verba KA. Computational pipeline provides mechanistic understanding of Omicron variant of concern neutralizing engineered ACE2 receptor traps. Structure 2023; 31:253-264.e6. [PMID: 36805129 PMCID: PMC9936628 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2023.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, with 15 mutations in Spike receptor-binding domain (Spike-RBD), renders virtually all clinical monoclonal antibodies against WT SARS-CoV-2 ineffective. We recently engineered the SARS-CoV-2 host entry receptor, ACE2, to tightly bind WT-RBD and prevent viral entry into host cells ("receptor traps"). Here we determine cryo-EM structures of our receptor traps in complex with stabilized Spike ectodomain. We develop a multi-model pipeline combining Rosetta protein modeling software and cryo-EM to allow interface energy calculations even at limited resolution and identify interface side chains that allow for high-affinity interactions between our ACE2 receptor traps and Spike-RBD. Our structural analysis provides a mechanistic rationale for the high-affinity (0.53-4.2 nM) binding of our ACE2 receptor traps to Omicron-RBD confirmed with biolayer interferometry measurements. Finally, we show that ACE2 receptor traps potently neutralize Omicron and Delta pseudotyped viruses, providing alternative therapeutic routes to combat this evolving virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumya G Remesh
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Gregory E Merz
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Axel F Brilot
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Un Seng Chio
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Alexandrea N Rizo
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Thomas H Pospiech
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Irene Lui
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Mathew T Laurie
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Jeff Glasgow
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Chau Q Le
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Yun Zhang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Devan Diwanji
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Evelyn Hernandez
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Jocelyne Lopez
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Hevatib Mehmood
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Komal Ishwar Pawar
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Sergei Pourmal
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Amber M Smith
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Fengbo Zhou
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Joseph DeRisi
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Tanja Kortemme
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; QBI, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; The University of California, Berkeley-University of California, San Francisco Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Oren S Rosenberg
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Anum Glasgow
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
| | - Kevin K Leung
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - James A Wells
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Kliment A Verba
- QBI Coronavirus Research Group Structural Biology Consortium, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; QBI, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
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Piubelli C, Ruggiero A, Calciano L, Mazzi C, Castilletti C, Tiberti N, Caldrer S, Verzè M, Longoni SS, Accordini S, Bisoffi Z, Zipeto D. Subjects who developed SARS-CoV-2 specific IgM after vaccination show a longer humoral immunity and a lower frequency of infection. EBioMedicine 2023; 89:104471. [PMID: 36796232 PMCID: PMC9925293 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104471] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We have previously shown that eliciting SARS-CoV-2-specific IgM after vaccination is associated with higher levels of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing IgG. This study aims to assess whether IgM development is also associated with longer-lasting immunity. METHODS We analysed anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein IgG and IgM (IgG-S, IgM-S), and anti-nucleocapsid IgG (IgG-N) in 1872 vaccinees at different time points: before the first dose (D1; w0), before the second dose (D2; w3) at three (w6) and 23 weeks (w29) after D2; moreover, 109 subjects were further tested at the booster dose (D3, w44), at 3 weeks (w47) and 6 months (w70) after D3. Two-level linear regression models were used to evaluate the differences in IgG-S levels. FINDINGS In subjects who had no evidence of a previous infection at D1 (non-infected, NI), IgM-S development after D1 and D2 was associated with higher IgG-S levels at short (w6, p < 0.0001) and long (w29, p < 0.001) follow-up. Similar IgG-S levels were observed after D3. The majority (28/33, 85%) of the NI subjects who had developed IgM-S in response to vaccination did not experience infection. INTERPRETATION The development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM-S following D1 and D2 is associated with higher IgG-S levels. Most individuals who developed IgM-S never became infected, suggesting that IgM elicitation may be associated with a lower risk of infection. FUNDING "Fondi Ricerca Corrente" and "Progetto Ricerca Finalizzata" COVID-2020 (Italian Ministry of Health); FUR 2020 Department of Excellence 2018-2022 (MIUR, Italy); the Brain Research Foundation Verona.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Piubelli
- Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar (Verona), Italy
| | - Alessandra Ruggiero
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Lucia Calciano
- Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Cristina Mazzi
- Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar (Verona), Italy
| | - Concetta Castilletti
- Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar (Verona), Italy
| | - Natalia Tiberti
- Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar (Verona), Italy
| | - Sara Caldrer
- Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar (Verona), Italy
| | - Matteo Verzè
- Health Department, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar (Verona), Italy
| | - Silvia Stefania Longoni
- Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar (Verona), Italy
| | - Simone Accordini
- Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Zeno Bisoffi
- Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar (Verona), Italy
| | - Donato Zipeto
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
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Abstract
ELISA is a well-established technique used worldwide to quantify analytes present in a diverse milieu of biological samplings. It is especially important to clinicians who rely on the accuracy and precision of the test to administer patient care. Those results are to be held with great scrutiny since the assay is subject to error caused by interfering substances found in the sample matrix. In this chapter, we examine the nature of such interferences and discuss approaches to identify and offer remedies to remove the interference and validate the assay.
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Du J, Wu G, Chen Q, Yu C, Xu G, Liu A, Wang L. Fingerprinting trimeric SARS-CoV-2 RBD by capillary isoelectric focusing with whole-column imaging detection. Anal Biochem 2023; 663:115034. [PMID: 36586502 PMCID: PMC9794521 DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2022.115034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Because the spike (S) protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is the immunodominant antigen, the S protein and its receptor-binding domain (RBD) are both targets currently to be genetically engineered for designing the broad-spectrum vaccine. In theory, the expressed protein exists as a set of variants that are roughly the same but slightly different, which depends on the protein expression system. The variants can be phenotypically manifested as charge heterogeneity. Here, we attempted to depict the charge heterogeneity of the trimeric SARS-CoV-2 RBD by using capillary isoelectric focusing with whole-column imaging detection (cIEF-WCID). In its nature form, the electropherogram fingerprints of the trimeric RBD were presented under optimized experimental conditions. The peaks of matrix buffers can be fully distinguishable from peaks of trimeric RBD. The isoelectric point (pI) was determined to be within a range of 6.67-9.54 covering the theoretical pI of 9.02. The fingerprints of three batches of trimeric RBDs are completely the same, with the intra-batch and batch-to-batch relative standard deviations (RSDs) of both pI values and area percentage of each peak no more than 1.0%, indicating that the production process is stable and this method can be used to surveillance the batch-to-batch consistency. The fingerprint remained unchanged after incubating at 37 °C for 7 d and oxidizing by 0.015% H2O2. In addition, the fingerprint was destroyed when adjusting the pH value to higher than 10.0 but still stable when the pH was lower than 4.0. In summary, the cIEF-WCID fingerprint can be used for the identification, batch-to-batch consistency evaluation, and stability study of the trimeric SARS-CoV-2 RBD, as part of a quality control strategy during the potential vaccine production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jialiang Du
- NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, Division of Monoclonal Antibody Products, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Gang Wu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, Division of Monoclonal Antibody Products, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Quanyao Chen
- NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, Division of Monoclonal Antibody Products, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China,School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, China
| | - Chuanfei Yu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, Division of Monoclonal Antibody Products, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Gangling Xu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, Division of Monoclonal Antibody Products, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Anhui Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, China
| | - Lan Wang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, Division of Monoclonal Antibody Products, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China.
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49
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Wahba MA, Mofed D, Ghareeb DA, Omran JI, Salem TZ. Baculovirus displaying SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD promotes neutralizing antibody production in a mouse model. J Genet Eng Biotechnol 2023; 21:16. [PMID: 36759349 PMCID: PMC9910779 DOI: 10.1186/s43141-023-00472-2] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is always a need for a safe and efficient vaccine platform, especially when facing a pandemic such as COVID-19. Most of the SARS-CoV-2-based vaccines are based on the full spike protein, which is presented as a trimerized protein, and many viral vector vaccines express the spike protein into the host cells and do not display it on virus surfaces. However, the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD)-based vaccines are efficient and are currently under investigation and clinical trials. METHODOLOGY In this study, we are testing the efficacy of the RBD displayed on a baculovirus as a mean to formulate a safe and stable carrier to induce the immune system against SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, two pseudotyped baculoviruses were constructed to display the RBD, AcRBD-sfGFP-64, and AcRBD-sfGFP-V, using two different displaying strategies based on gp64 and VSV-G envelope glycoproteins, from Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), respectively. BALB/C mice were immunized with the pseudotyped baculoviruses in a dose-optimized manner. Dot blot and Western blot were used to screen and validate the polyclonal antibodies' specificity to the SARS-CoV-2 RBD. A plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) was used to measure the sera neutralization capacity against a SARS-CoV-2 wild-type isolate from Egypt. ELISA was used to quantify certain cytokines for the assessment of the immune response. RESULT The outcome of our investigation showed that the monomeric RBD proteins were properly displayed on baculovirus and efficiently triggered the mouse immune system. The produced sera efficiently neutralized about 50% of SARS-CoV-2 in more than 100-fold serum dilution. The immunized mice showed a significant increase (p<0.01) in the levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ and a significant decrease (p<0.01) and (p<0.001) in the levels of IL-4 and IL-10, respectively, which suggest that AcRBD-sfGFP-64 and AcRBD-sfGFP-V induce Th1 cellular immune response. CONCLUSION The produced recombinant viruses can induce the immune response without adjuvant, which needs dose optimization and further stability tests. Neutralizing antibodies were induced without affecting the health of immunized mice. Th1 response can be attainable through the system, which is of great benefit in SARS CoV-2 infection and the system can be tested for future applications including vaccine development and polyclonal antibody production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A. Wahba
- grid.440881.10000 0004 0576 5483Molecular Biology and Virology lab, Biomedical Sciences program, UST, Zewail City of Science and Technology, October Gardens, 6th of October City, Giza 12578 Egypt
| | - Dina Mofed
- grid.440881.10000 0004 0576 5483Molecular Biology and Virology lab, Biomedical Sciences program, UST, Zewail City of Science and Technology, October Gardens, 6th of October City, Giza 12578 Egypt
| | - Doaa A. Ghareeb
- grid.7155.60000 0001 2260 6941Bio-screening and preclinical trial lab, Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 21511, Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Jihad I. Omran
- grid.440881.10000 0004 0576 5483Molecular Biology and Virology lab, Biomedical Sciences program, UST, Zewail City of Science and Technology, October Gardens, 6th of October City, Giza 12578 Egypt
| | - Tamer Z. Salem
- grid.440881.10000 0004 0576 5483Molecular Biology and Virology lab, Biomedical Sciences program, UST, Zewail City of Science and Technology, October Gardens, 6th of October City, Giza 12578 Egypt ,grid.482515.f0000 0004 7553 2175Department of Microbial Genetics, Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERl), ARC, Giza, 12619 Egypt ,National Biotechnology Network of Expertise (NBNE), Academy of Science Research and Technology (ASRT), Cairo, 11334 Egypt
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50
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Chen F, Chen Y, Ke Q, Wang Y, Gong Z, Chen X, Cai Y, Li S, Sun Y, Peng X, Ji Y, Zhang T, Wu W, Cui L, Wang Y. ApoE4 associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes via downregulation of ACE2 and imbalanced RAS pathway. J Transl Med 2023; 21:103. [PMID: 36759834 PMCID: PMC9910247 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-03945-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent numerous epidemiology and clinical association studies reported that ApoE polymorphism might be associated with the risk and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and yielded inconsistent results. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection relies on its spike protein binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor expressed on host cell membranes. METHODS A meta-analysis was conducted to clarify the association between ApoE polymorphism and the risk and severity of COVID-19. Multiple protein interaction assays were utilized to investigate the potential molecular link between ApoE and the SARS-CoV-2 primary receptor ACE2, ApoE and spike protein. Immunoblotting and immunofluorescence staining methods were used to access the regulatory effect of different ApoE isoform on ACE2 protein expression. RESULTS ApoE gene polymorphism (ε4 carrier genotypes VS non-ε4 carrier genotypes) is associated with the increased risk (P = 0.0003, OR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.18-1.76) and progression (P < 0.00001, OR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.50-2.28) of COVID-19. ApoE interacts with both ACE2 and the spike protein but did not show isoform-dependent binding effects. ApoE4 significantly downregulates ACE2 protein expression in vitro and in vivo and subsequently decreases the conversion of Ang II to Ang 1-7. CONCLUSIONS ApoE4 increases SARS-CoV-2 infectivity in a manner that may not depend on differential interactions with the spike protein or ACE2. Instead, ApoE4 downregulates ACE2 protein expression and subsequently the dysregulation of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may provide explanation by which ApoE4 exacerbates COVID-19 disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Chen
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China ,grid.419010.d0000 0004 1792 7072Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan China
| | - Yanting Chen
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China ,grid.33199.310000 0004 0368 7223Department of Neurology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qiongwei Ke
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Yongxiang Wang
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Zheng Gong
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Institute of Laboratory Animal Center, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Xiongjin Chen
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Yujie Cai
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Shengnan Li
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Yuanhong Sun
- grid.266871.c0000 0000 9765 6057Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX USA
| | - Xiaoping Peng
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Yao Ji
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Tianzhen Zhang
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Wenxian Wu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China. .,Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China. .,Shenzhen Research Institute, Shandong University, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Lili Cui
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China.
| | - Yan Wang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China.
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