tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Virol
. 2021 Mar 8;JVI.01751-20.
doi: 10.1128/JVI.01751-20. Online ahead of print.
The PRRA insert at the S1/S2 site modulates cellular tropism of SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2 usage by the closely related Bat RaTG13
Shufeng Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Prabhuanand Selvaraj[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Christopher Z Lien[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ivette A Nunez[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wells W Wu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Chao-Kai Chou[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Tony T Wang[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Biochemical and structural analyses suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is well-adapted to infecting humans and the presence of four residues (PRRA) at the S1/S2 site within the spike (S) protein, which may lead to unexpected tissue or host tropism. Here we report that SARS-CoV-2 efficiently utilized ACE2 of 9 species to infect 293T cells. Similarly, pseudoviruses bearing S protein derived from either the bat RaTG13 or pangolin GX, two closely related animal coronaviruses, utilized ACE2 of a diverse range of animal species to gain entry. Removal of PRRA from SARS-CoV-2 S protein displayed distinct effects on pseudoviral entry into different cell types. Unexpectedly, insertion of PRRA into the RaTG13 S protein selectively abrogated the usage of horseshoe bat and pangolin ACE2 but enhanced the usage of mouse ACE2 by the relevant pseudovirus to enter cells. Together, our findings identified a previously unrecognized effect of the PRRA insert on SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 S proteins.ImportanceThe four-residue insert (PRRA) at the boundary between the S1and S2 subunits of SARS-CoV-2 has been widely recognized since day 1 for its role in SARS-CoV-2 S protein processing and activation. As this PRRA insert is unique to SARS-CoV-2 among group b betacoronaviruses, it is thought to affect the tissue and species tropism of SARS-CoV-2. We compared the usage of 10 ACE2 orthologs and found that the presence of PRRA not only affects the cellular tropism of SARS-CoV-2 but also modulates the usage of ACE2 orthologs by the closely related bat RaTG13 S protein. The binding of pseudovirions carrying RaTG13 S with a PRRA insert to mouse ACE2 was nearly 2-fold higher than that of pseudovirions carrying RaTG13 S.
. 2021 Mar 8;JVI.01751-20.
doi: 10.1128/JVI.01751-20. Online ahead of print.
The PRRA insert at the S1/S2 site modulates cellular tropism of SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2 usage by the closely related Bat RaTG13
Shufeng Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Prabhuanand Selvaraj[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Christopher Z Lien[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ivette A Nunez[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wells W Wu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Chao-Kai Chou[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Tony T Wang[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33685917
- DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01751-20
Abstract
Biochemical and structural analyses suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is well-adapted to infecting humans and the presence of four residues (PRRA) at the S1/S2 site within the spike (S) protein, which may lead to unexpected tissue or host tropism. Here we report that SARS-CoV-2 efficiently utilized ACE2 of 9 species to infect 293T cells. Similarly, pseudoviruses bearing S protein derived from either the bat RaTG13 or pangolin GX, two closely related animal coronaviruses, utilized ACE2 of a diverse range of animal species to gain entry. Removal of PRRA from SARS-CoV-2 S protein displayed distinct effects on pseudoviral entry into different cell types. Unexpectedly, insertion of PRRA into the RaTG13 S protein selectively abrogated the usage of horseshoe bat and pangolin ACE2 but enhanced the usage of mouse ACE2 by the relevant pseudovirus to enter cells. Together, our findings identified a previously unrecognized effect of the PRRA insert on SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 S proteins.ImportanceThe four-residue insert (PRRA) at the boundary between the S1and S2 subunits of SARS-CoV-2 has been widely recognized since day 1 for its role in SARS-CoV-2 S protein processing and activation. As this PRRA insert is unique to SARS-CoV-2 among group b betacoronaviruses, it is thought to affect the tissue and species tropism of SARS-CoV-2. We compared the usage of 10 ACE2 orthologs and found that the presence of PRRA not only affects the cellular tropism of SARS-CoV-2 but also modulates the usage of ACE2 orthologs by the closely related bat RaTG13 S protein. The binding of pseudovirions carrying RaTG13 S with a PRRA insert to mouse ACE2 was nearly 2-fold higher than that of pseudovirions carrying RaTG13 S.