ABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 infection-induced hyper-inflammation links to the acute lung injury and COVID-19 severity. Identifying the primary mediators that initiate the uncontrolled hypercytokinemia is essential for treatments. Mast cells (MCs) are strategically located at the mucosa and beneficially or detrimentally regulate immune inflammations. In this study, we showed that SARS-CoV-2-triggered MC degranulation initiated alveolar epithelial inflammation and lung injury. SARS-CoV-2 challenge induced MC degranulation in ACE-2 humanized mice and rhesus macaques, and a rapid MC degranulation could be recapitulated with Spike-RBD binding to ACE2 in cells; MC degranulation altered various signaling pathways in alveolar epithelial cells, particularly, the induction of pro-inflammatory factors and consequential disruption of tight junctions. Importantly, the administration of clinical MC stabilizers for blocking degranulation dampened SARS-CoV-2-induced production of pro-inflammatory factors and prevented lung injury. These findings uncover a novel mechanism for SARS-CoV-2 initiating lung inflammation, and suggest an off-label use of MC stabilizer as immunomodulators for COVID-19 treatments.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/metabolism , Cell Degranulation , Lung Injury/metabolism , Mast Cells/metabolism , Pulmonary Alveoli/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2/metabolism , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/genetics , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/metabolism , Animals , COVID-19/genetics , Cell Line, Tumor , Female , Humans , Lung Injury/genetics , Lung Injury/virology , Macaca mulatta , Male , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Mice, Transgenic , Pulmonary Alveoli/virology , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/metabolismABSTRACT
Excessive inflammatory responses induced upon SARS-CoV-2 infection are associated with severe symptoms of COVID-19. Inflammasomes activated in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection are also associated with COVID-19 severity. Here, we show a distinct mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 N protein promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation to induce hyperinflammation. N protein facilitates maturation of proinflammatory cytokines and induces proinflammatory responses in cultured cells and mice. Mechanistically, N protein interacts directly with NLRP3 protein, promotes the binding of NLRP3 with ASC, and facilitates NLRP3 inflammasome assembly. More importantly, N protein aggravates lung injury, accelerates death in sepsis and acute inflammation mouse models, and promotes IL-1ß and IL-6 activation in mice. Notably, N-induced lung injury and cytokine production are blocked by MCC950 (a specific inhibitor of NLRP3) and Ac-YVAD-cmk (an inhibitor of caspase-1). Therefore, this study reveals a distinct mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 N protein promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation and induces excessive inflammatory responses.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/metabolism , Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins/metabolism , Inflammasomes/metabolism , Inflammation/metabolism , NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2/metabolism , Animals , COVID-19/virology , Cells, Cultured , Cytokines/metabolism , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Inflammasomes/genetics , Lung Injury/genetics , Lung Injury/metabolism , Male , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Knockout , NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/genetics , Phosphoproteins/metabolism , Protein Binding , SARS-CoV-2/physiology , THP-1 CellsABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a global health emergency due to its association with severe pneumonia and relative high mortality. However, the molecular characteristics and pathological features underlying COVID-19 pneumonia remain largely unknown. To characterize molecular mechanisms underlying COVID-19 pathogenesis in the lung tissue using a proteomic approach, fresh lung tissues were obtained from newly deceased patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. After virus inactivation, a quantitative proteomic approach combined with bioinformatics analysis was used to detect proteomic changes in the SARS-CoV-2-infected lung tissues. We identified significant differentially expressed proteins involved in a variety of fundamental biological processes including cellular metabolism, blood coagulation, immune response, angiogenesis, and cell microenvironment regulation. Several inflammatory factors were upregulated, which was possibly caused by the activation of NF-κB signaling. Extensive dysregulation of the lung proteome in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection was discovered. Our results systematically outlined the molecular pathological features in terms of the lung response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and provided the scientific basis for the therapeutic target that is urgently needed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.