matfax
commented
4 years ago Summary
In this preprint, Ke Wang et al. focused on the interaction of CD147, the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S), and their own antibody Meplazumab (i.e. a humanized CD147 antibody). SARS-CoV-2-induced cell damage on Vero E6 cells was measured via PCR given different concentrations of Meplazumab. Meplazumab could significantly inhibit viral load in a concentration-dependent manner. SPR, Co-IP, ELISA, and WB were used to confirm a high affinity and protein interaction between the S protein and CD147. Using ELISA, they also presented a competitive inhibition of the protein interaction by Meplazumab. Evaluating infected Vero E6 cell cultures with IEM, they showed that labeled S proteins and CD147 proteins occur in viral inclusion bodies.
Discussion
The authors used Vero E6 cells for their experiments. Vero E6 cells have a high expression of ACE2 (i.e. the other proven entry protein for SARS-CoV-2). They didn't use an ACE2 antibody as a control. Neither did they use an ACE2-deficient cell line as a control. Nor did they use a CD147-deficient cell line and make these cells susceptible via CD147. No data is included to verify that Meplazumab indeed is a sole CD147 antibody and not inhibiting ACE2 binding as well. ACE2 is disregarded in this study instead of putting it into a context. The IEM pictures that the authors included don't seem to be very revealing. Unlike the S protein, CD147 isn't clustered on these images. CD147 isn't collocated anywhere near the S protein either. Probably, that is due to CD147 being rather a cell surface and membrane protein. Their further protein interaction experiments, however, prove an interaction of CD147 and the S protein of SARS-CoV-2. For SARS-CoV on the contrary, an interaction of its S protein and CD147 was disproven. A mutation would have to be responsible for the interaction. Unfortunately, no comparable data regarding the other proteins of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 are given.
I have an undergraduate science degree. Please read it critically.
Title: SARS-CoV-2 invades host cells via a novel route: CD147-spike protein
General Information
Please paste a link to the paper or a citation here:
Link: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.14.988345
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Citation: doi:10.1101/2020.03.14.988345
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