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Sequences in the cytoplasmic tail of SARS-CoV-2 Spike facilitate expression at the cell surface and syncytia formation.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Cattin-Ortolá, Jérôme  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8988-4265
Papa, Guido 

Abstract

The Spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds ACE2 to direct fusion with host cells. S comprises a large external domain, a transmembrane domain, and a short cytoplasmic tail. Understanding the intracellular trafficking of S is relevant to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and to vaccines expressing full-length S from mRNA or adenovirus vectors. Here we report a proteomic screen for cellular factors that interact with the cytoplasmic tail of S. We confirm interactions with the COPI and COPII vesicle coats, ERM family actin regulators, and the WIPI3 autophagy component. The COPII binding site promotes exit from the endoplasmic reticulum, and although binding to COPI should retain S in the early Golgi where viral budding occurs, there is a suboptimal histidine residue in the recognition motif. As a result, S leaks to the surface where it accumulates and can direct the formation of multinucleate syncytia. Thus, the trafficking signals in the tail of S indicate that syncytia play a role in the SARS-CoV-2 lifecycle.

Description

Keywords

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2, Animals, COP-Coated Vesicles, COVID-19, Cell Membrane, Chlorocebus aethiops, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Giant Cells, Golgi Apparatus, HEK293 Cells, Humans, Protein Binding, Protein Domains, Proteomics, SARS-CoV-2, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus, Vero Cells, Virus Assembly

Journal Title

Nat Commun

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2041-1723
2041-1723

Volume Title

12

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
RCUK | Medical Research Council (MC_U105178783)
Medical Research Council (MC_U105178783)