Dynamic label-free analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection reveals virus-induced subcellular remodeling. (preprint)

Assessing the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on organelle dynamics allows a better understanding of the mechanisms of viral replication. We combine label-free holo-tomographic microscopy (HTM) with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to visualize and quantify the subcellular changes triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection. We study the dynamics of shape, position and dry mass of nucleoli, nuclei, lipid droplets (LD) and mitochondria within hundreds of single cells from early infection to syncytia formation and death. SARS-CoV-2 infection enlarges nucleoli, perturbs LD, changes mitochondrial shape and dry mass, and separates LD from mitochondria. We then used Bayesian statistics on organelle dry mass states to define organelle cross-regulation (OCR) networks and report modifications of OCR that are triggered by infection and syncytia formation. Our work highlights the subcellular remodeling induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection and provides a new AI-enhanced, label-free methodology to study in real-time the dynamics of cell populations and their content.

The spike-stabilizing D614G mutation interacts with S1/S2 cleavage site mutations to promote the infectious potential of SARS-CoV-2 variants (preprint)

ABSTRACT SARS-CoV-2 remained genetically stable during the first three months of the pandemic, before acquiring a D614G spike mutation that rapidly spread worldwide, and then generating successive waves of viral variants with increasingly high transmissibility. We set out to evaluate possible epistatic interactions between the early occurring D614G mutation and the more recently emerged cleavage site mutations present in spike of the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants of concern. The P681H/R mutations at the S1/S2 cleavage site increased spike processing and fusogenicity but limited its incorporation into pseudoviruses. In addition, the higher cleavage rate led to higher shedding of the spike S1 subunit, resulting in a lower infectivity of the P681H/R-carrying pseudoviruses compared to those expressing the Wuhan wild-type spike. The D614G mutation increased spike expression at the cell surface and limited S1 shedding from pseudovirions. As a consequence, the D614G mutation preferentially increased the infectivity of P681H/R-carrying pseudoviruses. This enhancement was more marked in cells where the endosomal route predominated, suggesting that more stable spikes could better withstand the endosomal environment. Taken together, these findings suggest that the D614G mutation stabilized S1/S2 association and enabled the selection of mutations that increased S1/S2 cleavage, leading to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants expressing highly fusogenic spikes. AUTHOR SUMMARY The successive emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants is fueling the COVID pandemic, thus causing a major and persistent public health issue. The parameters involved in the emergence of variants with higher pathogenic potential remain incompletely understood. The first SARS-CoV-2 variant that spread worldwide in early 2020 carried a D614G mutation in the viral spike, making this protein more stable in its cleaved form at the surface of virions, and resulting in viral particles with higher infectious capacity. The Alpha and the Delta variants that spread in late 2020 and early 2021, respectively, proved increasingly transmissible and pathogenic when compared to the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. Interestingly, Alpha and Delta both carried mutations in a spike cleavage site that needs to be processed by cellular proteases prior to viral entry. The cleavage site mutations P681H/R made the Alpha and Delta spikes more efficient at viral fusion, by generating a higher fraction of cleaved spikes subunits S1 and S2. We show here that the early D614G mutation and the late P681H/R mutations act synergistically to increase the fusion capacity of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Specifically, viruses with increased spike cleavage due to P681H/R were even more dependent on the stabilizing effect of D614G mutation, which limited the shedding of cleaved S1 subunits from viral particles. These findings suggest that the worldwide spread of the D614G mutation was a prerequisite to the emergence of more pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 variants with highly fusogenic spikes.

Fusogenicity and neutralization sensitivity of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta sublineage AY.4.2 (preprint)

SARS-CoV-2 lineages are continuously evolving. As of December 2021, the AY.4.2 Delta sub-lineage represented 20 % of sequenced strains in UK and has been detected in dozens of countries. It has since then been supplanted by the Omicron variant. AY.4.2 displays three additional mutations (T95I, Y145H and A222V) in the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the spike when compared to the original Delta variant (B.1.617.2) and remains poorly characterized. Here, we analyzed the fusogenicity of the AY.4.2 spike and the sensitivity of an authentic AY.4.2 isolate to neutralizing antibodies. The AY.4.2 spike exhibited similar fusogenicity and binding to ACE2 than Delta. The sensitivity of infectious AY.4.2 to a panel of monoclonal neutralizing antibodies was similar to Delta, except for the anti-RBD Imdevimab, which showed incomplete neutralization. Sensitivity of AY.4.2 to sera from individuals having received two or three doses of Pfizer or two doses of AstraZeneca vaccines was reduced by 1.7 to 2.1 fold, when compared to Delta. Our results suggest that mutations in the NTD remotely impair the efficacy of anti-RBD antibodies. The temporary spread of AY.4.2 was not associated with major changes in spike function but rather to a partially reduced neutralization sensitivity.

Considerable escape of SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron to antibody neutralization (preprint)

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant was first identified in November 2021 in Botswana and South Africa 1,2 . It has in the meantime spread to many countries and is expected to rapidly become dominant worldwide. The lineage is characterized by the presence of about 32 mutations in the Spike, located mostly in the N-terminal domain (NTD) and the receptor binding domain (RBD), which may enhance viral fitness and allow antibody evasion. Here, we isolated an infectious Omicron virus in Belgium, from a traveller returning from Egypt. We examined its sensitivity to 9 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) clinically approved or in development 3 , and to antibodies present in 90 sera from COVID-19 vaccine recipients or convalescent individuals. Omicron was totally or partially resistant to neutralization by all mAbs tested. Sera from Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine recipients, sampled 5 months after complete vaccination, barely inhibited Omicron. Sera from COVID-19 convalescent patients collected 6 or 12 months post symptoms displayed low or no neutralizing activity against Omicron. Administration of a booster Pfizer dose as well as vaccination of previously infected individuals generated an anti-Omicron neutralizing response, with titers 5 to 31 fold lower against Omicron than against Delta. Thus, Omicron escapes most therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and to a large extent vaccine-elicited antibodies.

B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 SARS-CoV-2 variants display enhanced Spike-mediated fusion (preprint)

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 (variant Alpha) and B.1.351 (variant Beta) have supplanted pre-existing strains in many countries. Severe COVID-19 is characterized by lung abnormalities, including the presence of syncytial pneumocytes. Syncytia form when infected cells fuse with adjacent cells. The fitness, cytopathic effects and type-I interferon (IFN) sensitivity of the variants remain poorly characterized. Here, we assessed B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 spread and fusion in cell cultures. B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 replicated similarly to D614G reference strain in Vero, Caco-2, Calu-3 and primary airway cells and were similarly sensitive to IFN. The variants formed larger and more numerous syncytia. Variant Spikes, in the absence of any other viral proteins, resulted in faster fusion relative to D614G. B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 fusion was similarly inhibited by interferon induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs). Individual mutations present in the variant Spikes modified fusogenicity, binding to ACE2 and recognition by monoclonal antibodies. Also, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants remain sensitive to innate immunity components. The mutations present in the two variants globally enhance viral fusogenicity and allow for antibody evasion.