ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by a highly virulent and transmissible pathogen, has proven to be devastating to society. Mucosal vaccines that can induce antigen-specific immune responses in both the systemic and mucosal compartments are considered an effective measure to overcome infectious diseases caused by pathogenic microbes. We have recently developed a nasal vaccine system using cationic liposomes composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane and cholesteryl 3ß-N-(dimethylaminoethyl)carbamate in mice. However, the comprehensive molecular mechanism(s), especially the host soluble mediator involved in this process, by which cationic liposomes promote antigen-specific mucosal immune responses, remain to be elucidated. Herein, we show that intranasal administration of cationic liposomes elicited interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression at the site of administration. Additionally, both nasal passages and splenocytes from mice nasally immunized with cationic liposomes plus ovalbumin (OVA) were polarized to produce IL-6 when re-stimulated with OVA in vitro. Furthermore, pretreatment with anti-IL-6R antibody, which blocks the biological activities of IL-6, attenuated the production of OVA-specific nasal immunoglobulin A (IgA) but not OVA-specific serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses. In this study, we demonstrated that IL-6, exerted by nasally administered cationic liposomes, plays a crucial role in antigen-specific IgA induction.
Subject(s)
Immunity, Mucosal/immunology , Immunoglobulin A/metabolism , Interleukin-6/immunology , Vaccines/immunology , Administration, Intranasal , Animals , Antibody Formation/drug effects , Antigens/immunology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Cations/immunology , Cations/therapeutic use , Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated/immunology , Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated/therapeutic use , Female , Immunity, Mucosal/drug effects , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Interleukin-6/antagonists & inhibitors , Interleukin-6/genetics , Interleukin-6/metabolism , Liposomes/immunology , Liposomes/therapeutic use , Mice , Nasal Mucosa/immunology , Nasal Mucosa/metabolism , Ovalbumin/immunology , Quaternary Ammonium Compounds/immunology , Quaternary Ammonium Compounds/therapeutic use , Spleen/metabolism , Vaccines/administration & dosageABSTRACT
Cytokine storm and multi-organ failure are the main causes of SARS-CoV-2-related death. However, the origin of excessive damages caused by SARS-CoV-2 remains largely unknown. Here we show that the SARS-CoV-2 envelope (2-E) protein alone is able to cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-like damages in vitro and in vivo. 2-E proteins were found to form a type of pH-sensitive cation channels in bilayer lipid membranes. As observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells, heterologous expression of 2-E channels induced rapid cell death in various susceptible cell types and robust secretion of cytokines and chemokines in macrophages. Intravenous administration of purified 2-E protein into mice caused ARDS-like pathological damages in lung and spleen. A dominant negative mutation lowering 2-E channel activity attenuated cell death and SARS-CoV-2 production. Newly identified channel inhibitors exhibited potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity and excellent cell protective activity in vitro and these activities were positively correlated with inhibition of 2-E channel. Importantly, prophylactic and therapeutic administration of the channel inhibitor effectively reduced both the viral load and secretion of inflammation cytokines in lungs of SARS-CoV-2-infected transgenic mice expressing human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE-2). Our study supports that 2-E is a promising drug target against SARS-CoV-2.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/metabolism , COVID-19/pathology , Coronavirus Envelope Proteins/metabolism , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/etiology , SARS-CoV-2/metabolism , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/genetics , Animals , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Apoptosis , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/virology , Coronavirus Envelope Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Coronavirus Envelope Proteins/genetics , Cytokines/metabolism , Disease Models, Animal , Half-Life , Humans , Lung/metabolism , Lung/pathology , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Transgenic , Mutagenesis, Site-Directed , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , SARS-CoV-2/pathogenicity , Spleen/metabolism , Spleen/pathology , Viral Load , Virulence , COVID-19 Drug TreatmentABSTRACT
Transcriptomics, proteomics and pathogen-host interactomics data are being explored for the in silico-informed selection of drugs, prior to their functional evaluation. The effectiveness of this kind of strategy has been put to the test in the current COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been paying off, leading to a few drugs being rapidly repurposed as treatment against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Several neglected tropical diseases, for which treatment remains unavailable, would benefit from informed in silico investigations of drugs, as performed in this work for Dengue fever disease. We analyzed transcriptomic data in the key tissues of liver, spleen and blood profiles and verified that despite transcriptomic differences due to tissue specialization, the common mechanisms of action, "Adrenergic receptor antagonist", "ATPase inhibitor", "NF-kB pathway inhibitor" and "Serotonin receptor antagonist", were identified as druggable (e.g., oxprenolol, digoxin, auranofin and palonosetron, respectively) to oppose the effects of severe Dengue infection in these tissues. These are good candidates for future functional evaluation and clinical trials.