Particulate matter exposure exacerbates susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection in humanized ACE2 mice
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摘要: 由严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒2 (SARS-CoV-2)引起的2019冠状病毒病在全球爆发,全球感染人数超过1.5亿,死亡327万人。有证据表明,可在大气颗粒物(PM)上检测到SARS-CoV-2 的RNA, COVID-19病例与空气污染物水平相关。然而,PM参与SARS-CoV-2传播的机制仍然鲜为人知。我们发现PM暴露增加了一些上皮细胞血管紧张素转换酶2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, ACE2)和跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2 (transmembrane serine protease 2, TMPRSS2)的表达水平,并增加了SARS-CoV-2刺突蛋白的吸附。在hACE2小鼠模型中灌注PM显著增加了肺中ACE2和Tmpss2的表达和病毒的复制。此外,PM加重了hACE2小鼠中SARS-CoV-2感染引起的肺部病变。综上所述,我们的研究表明,PM是COVID-19的一个流行因素,强调了佩戴防PM口罩应对这场全球大流行的必要性。
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关键词:
- COVID-19 /
- 颗粒物 /
- 流行风险 /
- hACE2小鼠 /
- SARS-CoV-2进入因子
Abstract: The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as of 8 May 2021, has surpassed 150 700 000 infections and 3 279 000 deaths worldwide. Evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected on particulate matter (PM), and COVID-19 cases are correlated with levels of air pollutants. However, the mechanisms of PM involvement in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 remain poorly understood. Here, we found that PM exposure increased the expression level of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) in several epithelial cells and increased the adsorption of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Instillation of PM in a hACE2 mouse model significantly increased the expression of ACE2 and Tmprss2 and viral replication in the lungs. Furthermore, PM exacerbated the pulmonary lesions caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection in the hACE2 mice. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that PM is an epidemiological factor of COVID-19, emphasizing the necessity of wearing anti-PM masks to cope with this global pandemic.-
Key words:
- COVID-19 /
- Particulate matter /
- Epidemic risk /
- hACE2 mice /
- SARS-CoV-2 entry factor
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Figure 1. PM exposure induces ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression and elevates susceptibility of hACE2 mice to SARS-CoV-2 infection
A: Immunofluorescence analysis of adsorption spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 after 200 μg/mL PM administration for 24 h. Scale bars: 100 μm. B: Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in HPAEpiC cells after 50 or 200 μg/mL PM administration for 24 h. C: Immunoblot analysis of ACE2 and TMPSSR2 in HPAEpiC cells after 50 or 200 μg/mL PM administration for 24 h. GAPDH was used as the loading control. D: Congestion in lungs of SARS-CoV-2-infected hACE2 mice with or without exposure to PM. Scale bars: 50 μm. E: qPCR analysis of relative viral loads and expression of ACE2 and Tmprss2 in two left pulmonary lobes of mice. F: Immunofluorescence staining of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and human ACE2 in left lungs of SARS-CoV-2-infected hACE2 mice at 3 dpi. Scale bars: 100 μm. G: qPCR analysis of Il6, Tnfa, Il2, and Il1b genes in SARS-CoV-2-infected hACE2 mice; results are presented relative to those of mouse Hprt. Data are mean±standard error of the mean (SEM).
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