Deletion of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Cytoplasmic Tail Increases Infectivity in Pseudovirus Neutralization Assays
Jingyou Yu, Zhenfeng Li, Xuan He, Makda S. Gebre, Esther A. Bondzie, Huahua Wan, Catherine Jacob-Dolan, David R. Martinez, Joseph P. Nkolola, Ralph S. Baric, Dan H. Barouch
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is the etiologic agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. The development of a high throughput pseudovirus neutralization assay is critical for the development of vaccines and immune-based therapeutics. In this study, we show that deletion of the cytoplasmic tail of the SARS-CoV-2 spike leads to pseudoviruses with enhanced infectivity. This SΔCT13-based pseudovirus neutralization assay should be broadly useful for the field.
Topics & Concepts
NeutralizationInfectivityVirologyBiologyViral entryVirusViral replicationSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchVirus-based gene therapy researchAnimal Virus Infections Studies