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Syncytia formation by SARS-CoV-2-infected cells.

ABSTRACT: Severe cases of COVID-19 are associated with extensive lung damage and the presence of infected multinucleated syncytial pneumocytes. The viral and cellular mechanisms regulating the formation of these syncytia are not well understood. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2-infected cells express the Spike protein (S) at their surface and fuse with ACE2-positive neighboring cells. Expression of S without any other viral proteins triggers syncytia formation. Interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs), a family of restriction factors that block the entry of many viruses, inhibit S-mediated fusion, with IFITM1 being more active than IFITM2 and IFITM3. On the contrary, the TMPRSS2 serine protease, which is known to enhance infectivity of cell-free virions, processes both S and ACE2 and increases syncytia formation by accelerating the fusion process. TMPRSS2 thwarts the antiviral effect of IFITMs. Our results show that SARS-CoV-2 pathological effects are modulated by cellular proteins that either inhibit or facilitate syncytia formation.

SUBMITTER: Buchrieser J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7646020 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Syncytia formation by SARS-CoV-2 infected cells.

Project description:Severe cases of COVID-19 are associated with extensive lung damage and the presence of infected multinucleated syncytial pneumocytes. The viral and cellular mechanisms regulating the formation of these syncytia are not well understood. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infected cells express the Spike protein (S) at their surface and fuse with ACE2-positive neighbouring cells. Expression of S without any other viral proteins triggers syncytia formation. Interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs), a family of restriction factors that block the entry of many viruses, inhibit S-mediated fusion, with IFITM1 being more active than IFITM2 and IFITM3. On the contrary, the TMPRSS2 serine protease, which is known to enhance infectivity of cell-free virions, processes both S and ACE2 and increases syncytia formation by accelerating the fusion process. TMPRSS2 thwarts the antiviral effect of IFITMs. Our results show that SARS-CoV-2 pathological effects are modulated by cellular proteins that either inhibit or facilitate syncytia formation.

| S-SCDT-EMBOJ-2020-106267 | biostudies-other

Syncytia formation by SARS-CoV-2-infected cells.

Project description: Not available

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Computationally prioritized drugs inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection and syncytia formation.

Project description:The pharmacological arsenal against the COVID-19 pandemic is largely based on generic anti-inflammatory strategies or poorly scalable solutions. Moreover, as the ongoing vaccination campaign is rolling slower than wished, affordable and effective therapeutics are needed. To this end, there is increasing attention toward computational methods for drug repositioning and de novo drug design. Here, multiple data-driven computational approaches are systematically integrated to perform a virtual screening and prioritize candidate drugs for the treatment of COVID-19. From the list of prioritized drugs, a subset of representative candidates to test in human cells is selected. Two compounds, 7-hydroxystaurosporine and bafetinib, show synergistic antiviral effects in vitro and strongly inhibit viral-induced syncytia formation. Moreover, since existing drug repositioning methods provide limited usable information for de novo drug design, the relevant chemical substructures of the identified drugs are extracted to provide a chemical vocabulary that may help to design new effective drugs.

| S-EPMC8769897 | biostudies-literature

SARS-CoV-2 requires cholesterol for viral entry and pathological syncytia formation.

Project description:Many enveloped viruses induce multinucleated cells (syncytia), reflective of membrane fusion events caused by the same machinery that underlies viral entry. These syncytia are thought to facilitate replication and evasion of the host immune response. Here, we report that co-culture of human cells expressing the receptor ACE2 with cells expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike, results in synapse-like intercellular contacts that initiate cell-cell fusion, producing syncytia resembling those we identify in lungs of COVID-19 patients. To assess the mechanism of spike/ACE2-driven membrane fusion, we developed a microscopy-based, cell-cell fusion assay to screen ~6000 drugs and >30 spike variants. Together with quantitative cell biology approaches, the screen reveals an essential role for biophysical aspects of the membrane, particularly cholesterol-rich regions, in spike-mediated fusion, which extends to replication-competent SARS-CoV-2 isolates. Our findings potentially provide a molecular basis for positive outcomes reported in COVID-19 patients taking statins and suggest new strategies for therapeutics targeting the membrane of SARS-CoV-2 and other fusogenic viruses.

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Tilt-series taken from SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero cells.

Project description: Not available

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Syncytia formation during SARS-CoV-2 lung infection: a disastrous unity to eliminate lymphocytes.

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SARS-CoV-2 Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants display enhanced Spike-mediated syncytia formation.

Project description:Severe COVID-19 is characterized by lung abnormalities, including the presence of syncytial pneumocytes. Syncytia form when SARS-CoV-2 spike protein expressed on the surface of infected cells interacts with the ACE2 receptor on neighboring cells. The syncytia forming potential of spike variant proteins remain poorly characterized. Here, we first assessed Alpha (B.1.1.7) and Beta (B.1.351) spread and fusion in cell cultures, compared with the ancestral D614G strain. Alpha and Beta replicated similarly to D614G strain in Vero, Caco-2, Calu-3, and primary airway cells. However, Alpha and Beta formed larger and more numerous syncytia. Variant spike proteins displayed higher ACE2 affinity compared with D614G. Alpha, Beta, and D614G fusion was similarly inhibited by interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs). Individual mutations present in Alpha and Beta spikes modified fusogenicity, binding to ACE2 or recognition by monoclonal antibodies. We further show that Delta spike also triggers faster fusion relative to D614G. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 emerging variants display enhanced syncytia formation.

| S-EPMC8646911 | biostudies-literature

Palmitoylation of SARS-CoV-2 S protein is critical for S-mediated syncytia formation and virus entry.

Project description:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The S protein is the key viral protein for associating with ACE2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2. There are many kinds of posttranslational modifications in S protein. However, the detailed mechanism of palmitoylation of SARS-CoV-2 S remains to be elucidated. In our current study, we characterized the palmitoylation of SARS-CoV-2 S. Both the C15 and cytoplasmic tail of SARS-CoV-2 S were palmitoylated. Fatty acid synthase inhibitor C75 and zinc finger DHHC domain-containing palmitoyltransferase (ZDHHC) inhibitor 2-BP reduced the palmitoylation of S. Interestingly, palmitoylation of SARS-CoV-2 S was not required for plasma membrane targeting of S but was critical for S-mediated syncytia formation and SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus particle entry. Overexpression of ZDHHC2, ZDHHC3, ZDHHC4, ZDHHC5, ZDHHC8, ZDHHC9, ZDHHC11, ZDHHC14, ZDHHC16, ZDHHC19, and ZDHHC20 promoted the palmitoylation of S. Furthermore, those ZDHHCs were identified to associate with SARS-CoV-2 S. Our study not only reveals the mechanism of S palmitoylation but also will shed important light into the role of S palmitoylation in syncytia formation and virus entry.

| S-EPMC8661603 | biostudies-literature

Pyroptosis of syncytia formed by fusion of SARS-CoV-2 spike and ACE2-expressing cells.

Project description: Not available

| S-EPMC8384103 | biostudies-literature

Sequences in the cytoplasmic tail of SARS-CoV-2 Spike facilitate expression at the cell surface and syncytia formation.

Project description:The Spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds ACE2 to direct fusion with host cells. S comprises a large external domain, a transmembrane domain, and a short cytoplasmic tail. Understanding the intracellular trafficking of S is relevant to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and to vaccines expressing full-length S from mRNA or adenovirus vectors. Here we report a proteomic screen for cellular factors that interact with the cytoplasmic tail of S. We confirm interactions with the COPI and COPII vesicle coats, ERM family actin regulators, and the WIPI3 autophagy component. The COPII binding site promotes exit from the endoplasmic reticulum, and although binding to COPI should retain S in the early Golgi where viral budding occurs, there is a suboptimal histidine residue in the recognition motif. As a result, S leaks to the surface where it accumulates and can direct the formation of multinucleate syncytia. Thus, the trafficking signals in the tail of S indicate that syncytia play a role in the SARS-CoV-2 lifecycle.

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