TMPRSS2 expression dictates the entry route used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect host cells

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerged coronavirus that caused the global COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020. COVID-19 is primarily associated with lung injury, but many other clinical symptoms such as loss of smell and taste demonstrated broad tissue tropism of the virus. Early SARS-CoV-2-host cell interactions and entry mechanisms remain poorly understood. Investigating SARS-CoV-2 infection in tissue culture, we found that the protease TMPRSS2 determines the entry pathway used by the virus. In the presence of TMPRSS2, the proteolytic process of SARS-CoV-2 was completed at the plasma membrane, and the virus rapidly entered the cells within 10 min in a pH-independent manner. When target cells lacked TMPRSS2 expression, the virus was endocytosed and sorted into endolysosomes, from which SARS-CoV-2 ente

SUBMITTER: Mrs. Jana Koch 

PROVIDER: S-SCDT-EMBOJ-2021-107821 | biostudies-other |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other