The SARS-CoV-2 Transcriptome and the Dynamics of the S Gene Furin Cleavage Site in Primary Human Airway Epithelia.

ABSTRACT: The spike (S) polypeptide of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) consists of the S1 and S2 subunits and is processed by cellular proteases at the S1/S2 boundary that contains a furin cleavage site (FCS), ⁶⁸²RRAR↓S⁶⁸⁶ Various deletions surrounding the FCS have been identified in patients. When SARS-CoV-2 propagated in Vero cells, it acquired deletions surrounding the FCS. We studied the viral transcriptome in Vero cell-derived SARS-CoV-2-infected primary human airway epithelia (HAE) cultured at an air-liquid interface (ALI) with an emphasis on the viral genome stability of the FCS. While we found overall the viral transcriptome is similar to that generated from infected Vero cells, we identified a high percentage of mutated viral genome and tra

SUBMITTER: Zou W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8262919 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature