In SARS-CoV-2 delta variants, Spike-P681R and D950N promote membrane fusion, Spike-P681R enhances spike cleavage, but neither substitution affects pathogenicity in hamsters.
EBioMedicine
; 91: 104561, 2023 May.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2295239
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2 lineage) variant was first identified at the end of 2020 and possessed two unique amino acid substitutions in its spike protein S-P681R, at the S1/S2 cleavage site, and S-D950N, in the HR1 of the S2 subunit. However, the roles of these substitutions in virus phenotypes have not been fully characterized.METHODS:
We used reverse genetics to generate Wuhan-D614G viruses with these substitutions and delta viruses lacking these substitutions and explored how these changes affected their viral characteristics in vitro and in vivo.FINDINGS:
S-P681R enhanced spike cleavage and membrane fusion, whereas S-D950N slightly promoted membrane fusion. Although S-681R reduced the virus replicative ability especially in VeroE6 cells, neither substitution affected virus replication in Calu-3 cells and hamsters. The pathogenicity of all recombinant viruses tested in hamsters was slightly but not significantly affected.INTERPRETATION:
Our observations suggest that the S-P681R and S-D950N substitutions alone do not increase virus pathogenicity, despite of their enhancement of spike cleavage or fusogenicity.FUNDING:
A full list of funding bodies that contributed to this study can be found under Acknowledgments.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
EBioMedicine
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.ebiom.2023.104561
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