Feinstein Paul
Department of Biological Sciences, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY 10065.
The Graduate Center Programs in Biochemistry, Biology and CUNY Neuroscience Collaborative, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016.
bioRxiv. 2024 Mar 8:2024.03.07.583884. doi: 10.1101/2024.03.07.583884.
It is widely accepted that the SARS-CoV-2 betacoronavirus infects humans through binding the human Angiotensin Receptor 2 (ACE2) that lines the nasal cavity and lungs, followed by import into a cell utilizing the Transmembrane Protease, Serine 2 (TMPRSS2) cofactor. ACE2 binding is mediated by an approximately 200-residue portion of the SARS-CoV-2 extracellular spike protein, the receptor binding domain (RBD). Robust interactions are shown using a novel cell-based assay between an RBD membrane tethered-GFP fusion protein and the membrane bound ACE2-Cherry fusion protein. Several observations were not predicted including, quick and sustained interactions leading to internalization of RBD fusion protein into the ACE2 cells and rapid downregulation of the ACE2-Cherry fluorescence. Targeted mutation in the RBD disulfide Loop 4 led to a loss of internalization for several variants tested. However, a secreted RBD did not cause ACE2 downregulation of ACE2-Cherry fluorescence. Thus, the membrane associated form of RBD found on the viral coat may have long-term system wide consequences on ACE2 expressing cells.
人们普遍认为,严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2型(SARS-CoV-2)β冠状病毒通过与鼻腔和肺部内衬的人类血管紧张素受体2(ACE2)结合来感染人类,随后利用跨膜蛋白酶丝氨酸2(TMPRSS2)辅助因子进入细胞。ACE2的结合由SARS-CoV-2细胞外刺突蛋白约200个残基的部分即受体结合域(RBD)介导。使用一种新型的基于细胞的检测方法,展示了RBD膜 tethered-GFP融合蛋白与膜结合的ACE2-Cherry融合蛋白之间的强烈相互作用。包括RBD融合蛋白快速且持续的相互作用导致其内化进入ACE2细胞以及ACE2-Cherry荧光迅速下调等一些观察结果并未被预测到。RBD二硫键环4中的靶向突变导致测试的几种变体失去内化作用。然而,分泌型RBD并未导致ACE2-Cherry荧光的ACE2下调。因此,在病毒衣壳上发现的膜相关形式的RBD可能对表达ACE2的细胞产生全系统的长期影响。