Extracellular vesicles containing ACE2 efficiently prevent infection by SARS‐CoV‐2 Spike protein‐containing virus
Federico Cocozza, Nathalie Névo, Ester Piovesana, Xavier Lahaye, Julian Buchrieser, Olivier Schwartz, Nicolas Manel, Mercedes Tkach, Clotilde Théry, Lorena Martín‐Jaular
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 entry is mediated by binding of the spike protein (S) to the surface receptor ACE2 and subsequent priming by host TMPRSS2 allowing membrane fusion. Here, we produced extracellular vesicles (EVs) exposing ACE2 and demonstrate that ACE2-EVs are efficient decoys for SARS-CoV-2 S protein-containing lentivirus. Reduction of infectivity positively correlates with the level of ACE2, is much more efficient than with soluble ACE2 and further enhanced by the inclusion of TMPRSS2.
Topics & Concepts
InfectivityExtracellular vesiclesExtracellularTMPRSS2Lipid bilayer fusionSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Fusion proteinVirusHEK 293 cellsCoronavirusSpike ProteinPriming (agriculture)VirologyViral entryChemistryCell biologyBiologyReceptorCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)BiochemistryRecombinant DNAGeneMedicineViral replicationDiseaseInfectious disease (medical specialty)GerminationBotanyPathologyExtracellular vesicles in diseaseSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchCOVID-19 Clinical Research Studies