Extracellular Vimentin as a Target Against SARS-CoV-2 Host Cell Invasion.
Small
; 18(6): e2105640, 2022 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1556161
ABSTRACT
Infection of human cells by pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, typically proceeds by cell surface binding to a crucial receptor. The primary receptor for SARS-CoV-2 is the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), yet new studies reveal the importance of additional extracellular co-receptors that mediate binding and host cell invasion by SARS-CoV-2. Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein that is increasingly recognized as being present on the extracellular surface of a subset of cell types, where it can bind to and facilitate pathogens' cellular uptake. Biophysical and cell infection studies are done to determine whether vimentin might bind SARS-CoV-2 and facilitate its uptake. Dynamic light scattering shows that vimentin binds to pseudovirus coated with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and antibodies against vimentin block in vitro SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection of ACE2-expressing cells. The results are consistent with a model in which extracellular vimentin acts as a co-receptor for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with a binding affinity less than that of the spike protein with ACE2. Extracellular vimentin may thus serve as a critical component of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-ACE2 complex in mediating SARS-CoV-2 cell entry, and vimentin-targeting agents may yield new therapeutic strategies for preventing and slowing SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Protein Binding
/
Vimentin
/
SARS-CoV-2
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Small
Journal subject:
Biomedical Engineering
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Smll.202105640
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