SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein binds to bacterial lipopolysaccharide and boosts proinflammatory activity.
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Petruk G, Puthia M, Petrlova J, Samsudin F, Strömdahl A, Cerps S, Uller L, Kjellström S, Bond PJ, Schmidtchen A
J Mol Cell Biol 12 (12) 916-932 [2020-12-09; online 2020-12-09]
There is a link between high lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels in the blood and the metabolic syndrome, and metabolic syndrome predisposes patients to severe COVID-19. Here, we define an interaction between SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein and LPS, leading to aggravated inflammation in vitro and in vivo. Native gel electrophoresis demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 S protein binds to LPS. Microscale thermophoresis yielded a KD of ∼47 nM for the interaction. Computational modeling and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations further substantiated the experimental results, identifying a main LPS binding site in SARS-CoV-2 S protein. S protein, when combined with low levels of LPS, boosted nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation in monocytic THP-1 cells and cytokine responses in human blood and peripheral blood mononuclear cells, respectively. The in vitro inflammatory response was further validated by employing NF-κB reporter mice and in vivo bioimaging. Dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and LPS-FITC analyses demonstrated that S protein modulated the aggregation state of LPS, providing a molecular explanation for the observed boosting effect. Taken together, our results provide an interesting molecular link between excessive inflammation during infection with SARS-CoV-2 and comorbidities involving increased levels of bacterial endotoxins.
PubMed 33295606
DOI 10.1093/jmcb/mjaa067
Crossref 10.1093/jmcb/mjaa067
pii: 6028992