Preliminary Application of a Coronavirus Pseudovirus System

Abstract

Aim: The preparation of a VSVΔG*-S pseudovirus carrying the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 and its preliminary application. Materials & methods: 293T cells were transfected with pCAGGS-SARS-2-S and infected with VSVΔG viruses. The VSVΔG*-S pseudovirus was collected by centrifugation. The pseudovirus was used to investigate the neutralization ability of serum from SARS-CoV-2 patients and the ability of peptides to inhibit the virus. Results: A VSVΔG*-S pseudovirus was successfully prepared. Patient serum and peptides could neutralize the pseudovirus infection as determined by measuring the expression of GFP. Conclusion: This pseudovirus system can be used to screen polypeptides and fusion inhibitors and measure neutralizing activity, which will benefit the study of SARS-CoV-2.

Plain language summary

The virus SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of COVID-19 disease. This virus is harmful and easily spreads between people, so when being worked with in a laboratory, it must be under high-security conditions. Laboratories with this level of safety are not common, so this reduces the ability to study SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we engineered a modified version of the virus, called a pseudovirus, that can be worked with in a lower security laboratory.

Keywords::

• neutralization test
• novel coronavirus
• peptides
• pseudovirus

Author contributions

YG Li conceived the projects leading to this publication and was the supervisor of all projects. XL Tao and TF Li conceptualized the study and edited and revised the manuscript. BJ He, W Zhao, SM Hu, ZP Ma, LY Sun, LK Luo and RL Li participated in the acquisition of data and the project of the whole experiment. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Financial disclosure

This work was supported by the Science and Technology Program of Liaoning Province (grant No. 2022-BS-320) and Liaoning Education Department of China (grant no. LJKMZ20221242). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Competing interest disclosure

The authors have no competing interests or relevant affiliations with any organization or entity with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Writing disclosure

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The collection human samples were approved by the Committee on Laboratory Animal Ethics of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China and all applicable institutional and governmental regulations concerning ethical considerations were followed (approval ID: 2022138).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Science and Technology Program of Liaoning Province (grant No. 2022-BS-320) and Liaoning Education Department of China (grant no. LJKMZ20221242). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.