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Frequency, kinetics and determinants of viable SARS-CoV-2 in bioaerosols from ambulatory COVID-19 patients infected with the β, δ or ο variants

ABSTRACT: Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 aerosol remains contentious. Importantly, whether cough or breath-generated bioaerosols can harbor viable and replicating virus remains largely unclarified. We perform size-fractionated aerosol sampling (Andersen cascade impactor) and evaluate viral culturability in human cell lines (infectiousness), viral genetics, and host immunity in ambulatory participants with COVID-19. Sixty-one percent (27/44) and 50% (22/44) of participants emitted variant-specific culture-positive aerosols <10μm and <5μm, respectively, for up to 9 days after symptom onset. Aerosol culturability is significantly associated with lower neutralizing antibody titers, and suppression of transcriptomic pathways related to innate immunity and the humoral response. A nasopharyngeal Ct <17 rules-in ~40% of aerosol culture-positives and identifies those who are probably highly infectious. A parsimonious three transcript blood-based biosignature is highly predictive of infectious aerosol generation (PPV> 95%). There is considerable heterogeneity in potential infectiousness i.e., only 29% of participants were probably highly infectious (produced culture-positive aerosols <5μm at ~6 days after symptom onset). These data, which comprehensively confirm variant-specific culturable SARS-CoV-2 in aerosol, inform the targeting of transmission-related interventions and public health containment strategies emphasizing improved ventilation.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE252508 | GEO | 2024/03/13

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Multiple respiratory viruses including Influenza A virus (IAV) can be transmitted via expiratory aerosol particles, and many studies have established that environmental conditions can affect viral infectivity during airborne transmission. Low aerosol pH was recently identified as a major factor influencing the infectivity of aerosol-borne IAV and SARS-CoV-2, however, there is a fundamental lack of understanding as to the mechanisms leading to viral inactivation within the acidic aerosol micro-environment. Here, we identified that the early stages of the IAV infection cycle were impacted by transient exposure to acidic aerosol conditions (pH below 5.5), which was primarily attributed to loss of binding function of the viral protein haemagglutinin. Viral capsid integrity was also somewhat affected by transient acidic exposure. We then characterised the structural changes associated with loss of viral infectivity using whole-virus hydrogen-deuterium exchange coupled to mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), and observed discrete regions of unfolding in the external viral protein haemagglutinin and in the internal matrix protein 1. Viral nucleoprotein structure appeared to be unaffected by exposure to acidic aerosol conditions, and no changes to viral genome integrity or to lipids within the viral envelope were detected using our whole-virus methods. Collectively, these data indicate that viral inactivation observed under indoor aerosol conditions is mediated by specific protein conformational changes, particularly to haemagglutinin. This study additionally provides a proof-of-concept that HDX-MS is a highly effective method for characterisation of internal and external proteins of whole enveloped viruses such as IAV. Overall, improved understanding of the fate of respiratory viruses within exhaled aerosols will aid the development of novel strategies and therapeutics to control the severity of seasonal and/or pandemic influenza, and constitutes a global public health priority.

Dataset Information

Frequency, kinetics and determinants of viable SARS-CoV-2 in bioaerosols from ambulatory COVID-19 patients infected with the β, δ or ο variants

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