Wnt3a Facilitates SARS-CoV-2 Pseudovirus Entry into Cells

How ACE2 functions as the major host receptor of SARS-CoV-2 despite having low expression in the lungs is still unknown. To facilitate the development of therapeutic strategies against coronaviruses, gaining a deeper comprehension of the molecular mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection is imperative. In...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of molecular sciences 2023-12, Vol.25 (1), p.217
Main Authors: Melano, Ivonne, Chen, Hui-Jye, Ngwira, Loveness, Hsu, Pang-Hung, Kuo, Li-Lan, Noriega, Lloyd, Su, Wen-Chi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 - genetics
Binding sites
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Cytoplasm
Cytotoxicity
Health aspects
Humans
Infection
Infections
Kinases
Ligands
Lungs
Maraviroc
Pandemics
Proteins
RNA, Small Interfering
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Signal transduction
Transcription factors
Vaccines
Viruses
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:How ACE2 functions as the major host receptor of SARS-CoV-2 despite having low expression in the lungs is still unknown. To facilitate the development of therapeutic strategies against coronaviruses, gaining a deeper comprehension of the molecular mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection is imperative. In our previous study, we identified several potential host factors of SARS-CoV-2 using an shRNA arrayed screen, one of which was Wnt3a. Here, we validated the significance of Wnt3a, a potent activator of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, for SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells by evaluating the effects of its knockdown and overexpression on SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped virus entry. Further analysis revealed that SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped virus infection activates the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which we found could subsequently stimulate ACE2 transcription. Collectively, our study identified Wnt3a as an important host factor that facilitates ACE2-mediated virus infection. Insight into the virus entry mechanism is impactful as it will aid in developing novel therapeutic strategies against current and future coronavirus pandemics.
ISSN:1422-0067
1661-6596
1422-0067
DOI:10.3390/ijms25010217