Genetic variety of ORF3a shapes SARS-CoV-2 fitness through modulation of lipid droplet.
J Med Virol
; 95(3): e28630, 2023 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2286170
ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection leads to the accumulation of lipid droplets (LD), the central hubs of the lipid metabolism, in vitro or in type II pneumocytes and monocytes from coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) patients and blockage of LD formation by specific inhibitors impedes SARS-CoV-2 replication. Here, we showed that ORF3a is necessary and sufficient to trigger LD accumulation during SARS-CoV-2 infection, leading to efficient virus replication. Although highly mutated during evolution, ORF3a-mediated LD modulation is conserved in most SARS-CoV-2 variants except the Beta strain and is a major difference between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 that depends on the genetic variations on the amino acid position 171, 193, and 219 of ORF3a. Importantly, T223I substitution in recent Omicron strains (BA.2-BF.8) impairs ORF3a-Vps39 association and LD accumulation, leading to less efficient replication and potentially contributing to lower pathogenesis of the Omicron strains. Our work characterized how SARS-CoV-2 modulates cellular lipid homeostasis to benefit its replication during virus evolution, making ORF3a-LD axis a promising drug target for the treatment of COVID-19.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus
/
COVID-19
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Med Virol
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Jmv.28630
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