Enhanced isolation of SARS-CoV-2 by TMPRSS2-expressing cells
Shutoku Matsuyama, Naganori Nao, Kazuya Shirato, Miyuki Kawase, Shinji Saito, Ikuyo Takayama, Noriyo Nagata, Tsuyoshi Sekizuka, Hiroshi Katoh, Fumihiro Kato, Masafumi Sakata, Maino Tahara, Satoshi Kutsuna, Norio Ohmagari, Makoto Kuroda, Tadaki Suzuki, Tsutomu Kageyama, Makoto Takeda
Abstract
A novel betacoronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which caused a large respiratory outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019, is currently spreading across many countries globally. Here, we show that a TMPRSS2-expressing VeroE6 cell line is highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, making it useful for isolating and propagating SARS-CoV-2. Our results reveal that, in common with SARS- and Middle East respiratory syndrome-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 infection is enhanced by TMPRSS2.