SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Stimulates Macropinocytosis in Murine and Human Macrophages via PKC-NADPH Oxidase Signaling.

ABSTRACT: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). While recent studies have demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 may enter kidney and colon epithelial cells by inducing receptor-independent macropinocytosis, it remains unknown whether this process also occurs in cell types directly relevant to SARS-CoV-2-associated lung pneumonia, such as alveolar epithelial cells and macrophages. The goal of our study was to investigate the ability of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunits to stimulate macropinocytosis in human alveolar epithelial cells and primary human and murine macrophages. Flow cytometry analysis of fluid-phase marker internalization demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunits S1, the receptor-binding domai

SUBMITTER: Ahn W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10885885 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature