PUBLICATION
SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein-derived extracellular vesicles act as potential media for viral spillover
- Authors
- Li, S., Bu, J., Pan, X., Li, Q., Zuo, X., Xiao, G., Du, J., Zhang, L.K., Xia, B., Gao, Z.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-240716-7
- Date
- 2024
- Source
- Journal of medical virology 96: e29782e29782 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Du, Jiu Lin, Xiao, Gengfu
- Keywords
- cellular signal transduction, coronavirus, cytokine/chemokine, immune responses, research and analysis methods, virus classification
- MeSH Terms
-
- Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/genetics
- Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/metabolism
- Animals
- COVID-19*/transmission
- COVID-19*/virology
- Cats
- Chiroptera/virology
- Chlorocebus aethiops
- Coronavirus Envelope Proteins/genetics
- Coronavirus Envelope Proteins/metabolism
- Cricetinae
- Dogs
- Extracellular Vesicles*/metabolism
- Extracellular Vesicles*/virology
- Humans
- Mice
- SARS-CoV-2*/genetics
- SARS-CoV-2*/pathogenicity
- SARS-CoV-2*/physiology
- Vero Cells
- Zebrafish/virology
- PubMed
- 39011762 Full text @ J Med Virol
Citation
Li, S., Bu, J., Pan, X., Li, Q., Zuo, X., Xiao, G., Du, J., Zhang, L.K., Xia, B., Gao, Z. (2024) SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein-derived extracellular vesicles act as potential media for viral spillover. Journal of medical virology. 96:e29782e29782.
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are shown to be a novel viral transmission model capable of increasing a virus's tropism. According to our earlier research, cells infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or transfected with envelope protein plasmids generate a novel type of EVs that are micrometer-sized and able to encase virus particles. Here, we showed the capacity of these EVs to invade various animals both in vitro and in vivo independent of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor. First, via macropinocytosis, intact EVs produced from Vero E6 (monkey) cells were able to enter cells from a variety of animals, including cats, dogs, bats, hamsters, and minks, and vice versa. Second, when given to zebrafish with cutaneous wounds, the EVs showed favorable stability in aqueous environments and entered the fish. Moreover, infection of wild-type (WT) mice with heterogeneous EVs carrying SARS-CoV-2 particles led to a strong cytokine response and a notable amount of lung damage. Conversely, free viral particles did not infect WT mice. These results highlight the variety of processes behind viral transmission and cross-species evolution by indicating that EVs may be possible vehicles for SARS-CoV-2 spillover and raising risk concerns over EVs' potential for viral gene transfer.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping