SARS CoV-2 Nucleoprotein Enhances the Infectivity of Lentiviral Spike Particles.

ABSTRACT: The establishment of SARS CoV-2 spike-pseudotyped lentiviral (LV) systems has enabled the rapid identification of entry inhibitors and neutralizing agents, alongside allowing for the study of this emerging pathogen in BSL-2 level facilities. While such frameworks recapitulate the cellular entry process in ACE2+ cells, they are largely unable to factor in supplemental contributions by other SARS CoV-2 genes. To address this, we performed an unbiased ORF screen and identified the nucleoprotein (N) as a potent enhancer of spike-pseudotyped LV particle infectivity. We further demonstrate that the spike protein is better enriched in virions when the particles are produced in the presence of N protein. This enrichment of spike renders LV particles more infectious as well as less vulnerable to th

SUBMITTER: Mishra T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8102828 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature