Different host cell proteases activate the SARS-coronavirus spike-protein for cell-cell and virus-cell fusion
- Blood Systems Research Institute and Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA (United States)
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover (Germany)
- Institute for Virology, University Hospital Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen (Germany)
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-6076 (United States)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) poses a considerable threat to human health. Activation of the viral spike (S)-protein by host cell proteases is essential for viral infectivity. However, the cleavage sites in SARS-S and the protease(s) activating SARS-S are incompletely defined. We found that R667 was dispensable for SARS-S-driven virus-cell fusion and for SARS-S-activation by trypsin and cathepsin L in a virus-virus fusion assay. Mutation T760R, which optimizes the minimal furin consensus motif 758-RXXR-762, and furin overexpression augmented SARS-S activity, but did not result in detectable SARS-S cleavage. Finally, SARS-S-driven cell-cell fusion was independent of cathepsin L, a protease essential for virus-cell fusion. Instead, a so far unknown leupeptin-sensitive host cell protease activated cellular SARS-S for fusion with target cells expressing high levels of ACE2. Thus, different host cell proteases activate SARS-S for virus-cell and cell-cell fusion and SARS-S cleavage at R667 and 758-RXXR-762 can be dispensable for SARS-S activation.
- OSTI ID:
- 21486934
- Journal Information:
- Virology, Journal Name: Virology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 413; ISSN VIRLAX; ISSN 0042-6822
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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