High-throughput assay using a GFP-expressing replicon for SARS-CoV drug discovery

Antiviral Research
Volume 80, Issue 2, November 2008, Pages 107-113

Feng Ge, Sheng Xiong, Fu-Sen Lin, Zhi-Ping Zhang, Xian-En Zhang

Abstract

The causative agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has been identified as a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV. The development of rapid screening assays is essential for antiviral drug discovery. By using a cell line expressing a SARS-CoV subgenomic replicon, we developed a high-throughput assay and used it to screen small molecule compounds for inhibitors of SARS-CoV replication in the absence of live virus. The assay system involves minimal manipulation after assay set-up, facilitates automated read-out and minimizes risks associated with hazardous viruses. Based on this assay system, we screened 7035 small molecule compounds from which we identified 7 compounds with anti-SARS-CoV activity. We demonstrate that the compounds inhibited SARS-CoV replication-dependent GFP expression in the replicon cells and reduced SARS-CoV viral protein accumulation and viral RNA copy number in the replicon cells. In a SARS-CoV plaque reduction assay, these compounds were confirmed to have antiviral activity. The target of one of the hit compounds, C12344, was validated by the generation of resistant replicon cells and the identification of the mutations conferring the resistant phenotype. These compounds should be valuable for developing anti-SARS therapeutic drugs as well as research tools to study the mechanism of SARS-CoV replication.

Keywords

SARS-CoV replicon, High-throughput screen (HTS)

An immunosuppressed Syrian golden hamster model for SARS-CoV infection

Virology
Volume 380, Issue 2, 25 October 2008, Pages 312-321

Scott R. Schaecher, Jennifer Stabenow, Christina Oberle, Jill Schriewer, R. Mark Buller, John E. Sagartz, Andrew Pekosz.

Abstract

Several small animal models have been developed for the study of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) replication and pathogenesis. Syrian golden hamsters are among the best small animal models, though little clinical illness and no mortality are observed after virus infection. Cyclophosphamide was used to immunosuppress hamsters leading to a prolonged disease course and higher mortality after SARS-CoV infection. In addition, there was a significant weight loss, expanded tissue tropism, and increased viral pathology in the lung, heart, kidney, and nasal turbinate tissues. Infection with recombinant SARS-CoV viruses bearing disruptions in the gene 7 coding region showed no significant change in replication kinetics, tissue tropism, morbidity, or mortality suggesting that the ORF7a (7a) and ORF7b (7b) proteins are not required for virus replication in immunosuppressed hamsters. This modified hamster model may provide a useful tool for SARS-CoV pathogenesis studies, evaluation of antiviral therapy, and analysis of additional SARS-CoV mutants.

Keywords

SARS-CoV, Coronavirus, Cyclophosphamide, ORF7a, ORF7b, Hamster, Accessory gene, Pathogenesis

A chimeric multi-epitope DNA vaccine elicited specific antibody response against severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus which attenuated the virulence of SARS-CoV in vitro

Immunology Letters
Volume 119, Issues 1–2, 15 August 2008, Pages 71-77

Xiaohua Wang, Wei Xu, Deyan Tong, Jing Ni, Haifeng Gao, Ying Wang, Yiwei Chu, Pingping Li, Xiaoming Yang, Sidong Xiong.

Abstract

Epitope-based vaccines designed to induce antibody responses specific for severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) are being developed as a means for increasing vaccine potency. In this study, we identified four B cell epitopes from the spike (S) and membrane (M) protein through bioinformatics analysis and constructed a multi-epitope DNA vaccine. Intramuscular immunization of mice with this vaccine was sufficient to induce specific prime as well as a long-term memory humoral immune response to at least two candidate epitopes, S437–459 and M1–20. A DNA prime–protein boost strategy greatly enhanced the antibody generation and the immune sera not only reacted with the lysates of SARS-CoV-infected Vero cells but also neutralized the cytopathic effect of SARS by 75% at 1:160 dilution. The novel immunogenic S protein peptide revealed in this study provides new target for SARS vaccine design; and our work indicated multi-epitope DNA vaccine as an effective means for eliciting polyvalent humoral immune response against SARS-CoV.

Keywords

SARS-CoV, Epitope, DNA vaccine, Antibody, Prime–boost

Lipid rafts are involved in SARS-CoV entry into Vero E6 cells

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
Volume 369, Issue 2, 2 May 2008, Pages 344-349

Yanning Lu, Ding Xiang Liu, James P. Tam.

Abstract

Lipid rafts often serve as an entry site for certain viruses. Here, we report that lipid rafts in Vero E6 cells are involved in the entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Infectivity assay showed the integrity of lipid rafts was required for productive infection of pseudotyped SARS-CoV. Depletion of plasma membrane cholesterol with MβCD relocalized raft-resident marker caveolin-1 as well as SARS-CoV receptor ACE2 to a nonraft environment, but did not significantly change the surface expression of ACE2. MβCD-treatment inhibited infectivity of pseudotyped SARS-CoV by 90%. Biochemical fractionation and confocal imaging confirmed that ACE2 colocalized with raft-resident markers. Furthermore, an ectodomain of SARS-CoV S protein (S1188HA) could associate with lipid rafts after binding to its receptor, and colocalize with raft-resident marker ganglioside GM1. The binding of S1188HA was not affected by depleting plasma membrane cholesterol. Taken together, our results support that lipid rafts serve as an entry port for SARS-CoV.

Keywords

Lipid rafts, SARS-CoV, Vero E6, ACE2, Spike protein, Entry

SARS-CoV replication and pathogenesis in an in vitro model of the human conducting airway epithelium

Virus Research
Volume 133, Issue 1, April 2008, Pages 33-44

Amy C. Sims, Susan E. Burkett, Boyd Yount, Raymond J. Pickles.

Abstract

SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged in 2002 as an important cause of severe lower respiratory tract infection in humans and in vitro models of the lung are needed to elucidate cellular targets and the consequences of viral infection. The severe and sudden onset of symptoms, resulting in an atypical pneumonia with dry cough and persistent high fever in cases of severe acute respiratory virus brought to light the importance of coronaviruses as potentially lethal human pathogens and the identification of several zoonotic reservoirs has made the reemergence of new strains and future epidemics all the more possible. In this chapter, we describe the pathology of SARS-CoV infection in humans and explore the use of two models of the human conducting airway to develop a better understanding of the replication and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV in relevant in vitro systems. The first culture model is a human bronchial epithelial cell line Calu-3 that can be inoculated by viruses either as a non-polarized monolayer of cells or polarized cells with tight junctions and microvilli. The second model system, derived from primary cells isolated from human airway epithelium and grown on Transwells, form a pseudostratified mucociliary epithelium that recapitulates the morphological and physiological features of the human conducting airway in vivo. Experimental results using these lung epithelial cell models demonstrate that in contrast to the pathology reported in late stage cases SARS-CoV replicates to high titers in epithelial cells of the conducting airway. The SARS-CoV receptor, human angiotensin 1 converting enzyme 2 (hACE2), was detected exclusively on the apical surface of cells in polarized Calu-3 cells and human airway epithelial cultures (HAE), indicating that hACE2 was accessible by SARS-CoV after lumenal airway delivery. Furthermore, in HAE, hACE2 was exclusively localized to ciliated airway epithelial cells. In support of the hACE2 localization data, the most productive route of inoculation and progeny virion egress in both polarized Calu-3 and ciliated cells of HAE was the apical surface suggesting mechanisms to release large quantities of virus into the lumen of the human lung. Preincubation of the apical surface of cultures with antisera directed against hACE2 reduced viral titers by two logs while antisera against DC-SIGN/DC-SIGNR did not reduce viral replication levels suggesting that hACE2 is the primary receptor for entry of SARS-CoV into the ciliated cells of HAE cultures. To assess infectivity in ciliated airway cultures derived from susceptible animal species we generated a recombinant SARS-CoV by deletion of open reading frame 7a/7b (ORF 7a/7b) and insertion of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) resulting in SARS-CoV GFP. SARS-CoV GFP replicated to similar titers as wild type viruses in Vero E6, MA104, and CaCo2 cells. In addition, SARS-CoV replication in airway epithelial cultures generated from Golden Syrian hamster tracheas reached similar titers to the human cultures by 72 h post-infection. Efficient SARS-CoV infection of ciliated cell-types in HAE provides a useful in vitro model of human lung origin to study characteristics of SARS-CoV replication and pathogenesis.

Keywords

Human airway epithelia, SARS-CoV, Coronavirus replication, SARS-CoV GFP, Coronavirus pathogenesis