SARS­CoV­2 spike protein­induced host inflammatory response signature in human corneal epithelial cells.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID­19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus­2 (SARS­CoV­2), led to an outbreak of viral pneumonia in December 2019. The present study aimed to investigate the host inflammatory response signature­caused by SARS­CoV­2 in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs). The expression level of angiotensin­converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the human cornea was determined via immunofluorescence. In vitro experiments were performed in HCECs stimulated with the SARS­CoV­2 spike protein. Moreover, the expression levels of ACE2, IL­8, TNF­α, IL­6, gasdermin D (GSDMD) and IL­1ß in HCECs were detected using reverse transcription­quantitative PCR and/or western blotting. It was identified that ACE2 was expressed in normal human corneal epithelium and HCECs cultured in vitro. Furthermore, the expression levels of IL­8, TNF­α and IL­6 in HCECs were decreased following SARS­CoV­2 spike protein stimulation, while the expression levels of GSDMD and IL­1ß were increased. In conclusion, the present results demonstrated that the SARS­CoV­2 spike protein suppressed the host inflammatory response and induced pyroptosis in HCECs. Therefore, blocking the ACE2 receptor in HCECs may reduce the infection rate of COVID­19.