RESUMEN
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a major cell entry receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The induction of ACE2 expression may serve as a strategy by SARS-CoV-2 to facilitate its propagation. However, the regulatory mechanisms of ACE2 expression after viral infection remain largely unknown. Using 45 different luciferase reporters, the transcription factors SP1 and HNF4α were found to positively and negatively regulate ACE2 expression, respectively, at the transcriptional level in human lung epithelial cells (HPAEpiCs). SARS-CoV-2 infection increased the transcriptional activity of SP1 while inhibiting that of HNF4α. The PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, activated by SARS-CoV-2 infection, served as a crucial regulatory node, inducing ACE2 expression by enhancing SP1 phosphorylation-a marker of its activity-and reducing the nuclear localization of HNF4α. However, colchicine treatment inhibited the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, thereby suppressing ACE2 expression. In Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) infected with SARS-CoV-2, inhibition of SP1 by either mithramycin A or colchicine resulted in reduced viral replication and tissue injury. In summary, our study uncovers a novel function of SP1 in the regulation of ACE2 expression and identifies SP1 as a potential target to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Asunto(s)
Enzima Convertidora de Angiotensina 2 , COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Factor de Transcripción Sp1 , Humanos , Enzima Convertidora de Angiotensina 2/genética , Colchicina , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinasas , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-akt , SARS-CoV-2/metabolismo , Factor de Transcripción Sp1/metabolismoRESUMEN
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global pandemic. Antibody resistance dampens neutralizing antibody therapy and threatens current global Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine campaigns. In addition to the emergence of resistant SARS-CoV-2 variants, little is known about how SARS-CoV-2 evades antibodies. Here, we report a novel mechanism of extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated cell-to-cell transmission of SARS-CoV-2, which facilitates SARS-CoV-2 to escape from neutralizing antibodies. These EVs, initially observed in SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein-expressing cells, are secreted by various SARS-CoV-2-infected cells, including Vero E6, Calu-3, and HPAEpiC cells, undergoing infection-induced pyroptosis. Various SARS-CoV-2-infected cells produce similar EVs characterized by extra-large sizes (1.6-9.5 µm in diameter, average diameter > 4.2 µm) much larger than previously reported virus-generated vesicles. Transmission electron microscopy analysis and plaque assay reveal that these SARS-CoV-2-induced EVs contain large amounts of live virus particles. In particular, the vesicle-cloaked SARS-CoV-2 virus is resistant to neutralizing antibodies and able to reinfect naïve cells independent of the reported receptors and cofactors. Consistently, the constructed 3D images show that intact EVs could be taken up by recipient cells directly, supporting vesicle-mediated cell-to-cell transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism of receptor-independent SARS-CoV-2 infection via cell-to-cell transmission, provide new insights into antibody resistance of SARS-CoV-2 and suggest potential targets for future antiviral therapeutics.
RESUMEN
The global emergency caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic can only be solved with effective and widespread preventive and therapeutic strategies, and both are still insufficient. Here, we describe an ultrathin two-dimensional CuInP2S6 (CIPS) nanosheet as a new agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection. CIPS exhibits an extremely high and selective binding capacity (dissociation constant (KD) < 1 pM) for the receptor binding domain of the spike protein of wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern, including Delta and Omicron, inhibiting virus entry and infection in angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-bearing cells, human airway epithelial organoids and human ACE2-transgenic mice. On association with CIPS, the virus is quickly phagocytosed and eliminated by macrophages, suggesting that CIPS could be successfully used to capture and facilitate virus elimination by the host. Thus, we propose CIPS as a promising nanodrug for future safe and effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapy, and as a decontamination agent and surface-coating material to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infectivity.
Asunto(s)
Tratamiento Farmacológico de COVID-19 , Nanoestructuras , Enzima Convertidora de Angiotensina 2 , Animales , Humanos , Ratones , Nanoestructuras/uso terapéutico , Unión Proteica , SARS-CoV-2 , Glicoproteína de la Espiga del Coronavirus/genética , Glicoproteína de la Espiga del Coronavirus/metabolismoRESUMEN
Natural products possessing unique scaffolds may have antiviral activity but their complex structures hinder facile synthesis. A pharmacophore-oriented semisynthesis approach was applied to (-)-maoelactoneâ A (1) and oridonin (2) for the discovery of anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents. The Wolff rearrangement/lactonization cascade (WRLC) reaction was developed to construct the unprecedented maoelactone-type scaffold during semisynthesis of 1. Further mechanistic study suggested a concerted mechanism for Wolff rearrangement and a water-assisted stepwise process for lactonization. The WRLC reaction then enabled the creation of a novel family by assembly of the maoelactone-type scaffold and the pharmacophore of 2, whereby one derivative inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in HPA EpiC cells with a low EC50 value (19±1â nM) and a high TI value (>1000), both values better than those of remdesivir.
Asunto(s)
Productos Biológicos , Tratamiento Farmacológico de COVID-19 , Antivirales/química , Antivirales/farmacología , Productos Biológicos/farmacología , Humanos , SARS-CoV-2RESUMEN
Safe, effective, and economical vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are needed to achieve adequate herd immunity and end the pandemic. We constructed a novel SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, CoVac501, which is a self-adjuvanting peptide vaccine conjugated with Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonists. The vaccine contains immunodominant peptides screened from the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and is fully chemically synthesized. It has been formulated in an optimized nanoemulsion formulation and is stable at 40 °C for 1 month. In non-human primates (NHPs), CoVac501 elicited high and persistent titers of protective neutralizing antibodies against multiple RBD mutations, SARS-CoV-2 original strain, and variants (B.1.1.7 and B.1.617.2). Specific peptides booster immunization against the B.1.351 variant has also been shown to be effective in improving protection against B.1.351. Meanwhile, CoVac501 elicited the increase of memory T cells, antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell responses, and Th1-biased CD4+ T-cell immune responses in NHPs. Notably, at an extremely high SARS-CoV-2 challenge dose of 1 × 107 TCID50, CoVac501 provided near-complete protection for the upper and lower respiratory tracts of cynomolgus macaques.
RESUMEN
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is unprecedented in human history. As a major structural protein, nucleocapsid protein (NPro) is critical to the replication of SARS-CoV-2. In this work, 17 NPro-targeting phenanthridine derivatives were rationally designed and synthesized, based on the crystal structure of NPro. Most of these compounds can interact with SARS-CoV-2 NPro tightly and inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Compounds 12 and 16 exhibited the most potent anti-viral activities with 50% effective concentration values of 3.69 and 2.18 µM, respectively. Furthermore, site-directed mutagenesis of NPro and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) assays revealed that 12 and 16 target N-terminal domain (NTD) of NPro by binding to Tyr109. This work found two potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 bioactive compounds and also indicated that SARS-CoV-2 NPro-NTD can be a target for new anti-virus agents.