Omicron subvariant BA.5 efficiently infects lung cells.
Nat Commun
; 14(1): 3500, 2023 06 13.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20236856
ABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.2 exhibit reduced lung cell infection relative to previously circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, which may account for their reduced pathogenicity. However, it is unclear whether lung cell infection by BA.5, which displaced these variants, remains attenuated. Here, we show that the spike (S) protein of BA.5 exhibits increased cleavage at the S1/S2 site and drives cell-cell fusion and lung cell entry with higher efficiency than its counterparts from BA.1 and BA.2. Increased lung cell entry depends on mutation H69Δ/V70Δ and is associated with efficient replication of BA.5 in cultured lung cells. Further, BA.5 replicates in the lungs of female Balb/c mice and the nasal cavity of female ferrets with much higher efficiency than BA.1. These results suggest that BA.5 has acquired the ability to efficiently infect lung cells, a prerequisite for causing severe disease, suggesting that evolution of Omicron subvariants can result in partial loss of attenuation.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
Nat Commun
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Science
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41467-023-39147-4
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