Differential Signaling and Virus Production in Calu-3 Cells and Vero Cells upon SARS-CoV-2 Infection

• Published in: Biomolecules & therapeutics Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 273 - 281
• Main Authors: Park, Byoung Kwon, Kim, Dongbum, Park, Sangkyu, Maharjan, Sony, Kim, Jinsoo, Choi, Jun-Kyu, Akauliya, Madhav, Lee, Younghee, Kwon, Hyung-Joo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology 01-05-2021; 한국응용약물학회
• Subjects: Original; 약학; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; STAT1; STAT3 phosphorylation; STAT3; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 1976-9148; 2005-4483
• DOI: 10.4062/biomolther.2020.226

Severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Signaling pathways that are essential for virus production have potential as therapeutic targets against COVID-19. In this study, we investigated cellular responses in two cell lines, Vero and Calu-3, upon SARS-CoV-2 infection and evaluated the effects of pathway-specific inhibitors on virus production. SARS-CoV-2 infection induced dephosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3, high virus production, and apoptosis in Vero cells. However, in Calu-3 cells, SARS-CoV-2 infection induced long-lasting phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3, low virus production, and no prominent apoptosis. Inhibitors that target STAT3 phosphorylation and dimerization reduced SARS-CoV-2 production in Calu-3 cells, but not in Vero cells. These results suggest a necessity to evaluate cellular consequences upon SARS-CoV-2 infection using various model cell lines to find out more appropriate cells recapitulating relevant responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection
.