The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds and modulates estrogen receptors (preprint)

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein binds angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) at the cell surface, which constitutes the primary mechanism driving SARS-CoV-2 infection. Molecular interactions between the transduced S and endogenous proteins likely occur post-infection, but such interactions are not well understood. We used an unbiased primary screen to profile the binding of full-length S against >9,000 human proteins and found significant S-host protein interactions, including one between S and human estrogen receptor alpha (ER). After confirming this interaction in a secondary assay, we used bioinformatics, supercomputing, and experimental assays to identify a highly conserved and functional nuclear receptor coregulator (NRC) LXD-like motif on the S2 subunit and an S-ER binding mode. In cultured cells, S DNA transfection increased ER cytoplasmic accumulation, and S treatment induced ER-dependent biological effects and ACE2 expression. Noninvasive multimodal PET/CT imaging in SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters using [18F]fluoroestradiol (FES) localized lung pathology with increased ER lung levels. Postmortem experiments in lung tissues from SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters and humans confirmed an increase in cytoplasmic ER expression and its colocalization with S protein in alveolar macrophages. These findings describe the discovery and characterization of a novel S-ER interaction, imply a role for S as an NRC, and are poised to advance knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 biology, COVID-19 pathology, and mechanisms of sex differences in the pathology of infectious disease.

Dynamic single-cell RNA sequencing reveals BCG vaccination curtails SARS-CoV-2 induced disease severity and lung inflammation (preprint)

COVID-19 continues to exact a toll on human health despite the availability of several vaccines. Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) has been shown to confer heterologous immune protection against viral infections including COVID-19 and has been proposed as vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 (SCV2). Here we tested intravenous BCG vaccination against COVID-19 using the golden Syrian hamster model together with immune profiling and single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq). We observed that BCG reduced both lung SCV2 viral load and bronchopneumonia. This was accompanied by an increase in lung alveolar macrophages, a reversal of SCV2-mediated T cell lymphopenia, and reduced lung granulocytes. Single cell transcriptome profiling showed that BCG uniquely recruits immunoglobulin-producing plasma cells to the lung suggesting accelerated antibody production. BCG vaccination also recruited elevated levels of Th1, Th17, Treg, CTLs, and Tmem cells, and differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis showed a transcriptional shift away from exhaustion markers and towards antigen presentation and repair. Similarly, BCG enhanced lung recruitment of alveolar macrophages and reduced key interstitial macrophage subsets, with both cell-types also showing reduced IFN-associated gene expression. Our observations indicate that BCG vaccination protects against SCV2 immunopathology by promoting early lung immunoglobulin production and immunotolerizing transcriptional patterns among key myeloid and lymphoid populations.