Gene

Coronavirus

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Sars virus

Ecology

Neuroscience

Spike (software development)

Biology

Transgene

Betacoronavirus

Virology

Receptor

Mutation

Genetically modified mouse

Computer science

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Outbreak

Computational biology

Knockout mouse

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Immunology

Genetics

Rodent

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Infectivity

Medicine

Software engineering

Virus

Disease

Adaptation (eye)

Pathology

EBioMedicine

<h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Background</h3> An ideal animal model to study SARS-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogenesis and evaluate therapies and vaccines should reproduce SARS-CoV-2 infection and recapitulate lung disease like those seen in humans. The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a functional receptor for SARS-CoV-2, but mice are resistant to the infection because their ACE2 is incompatible with the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein . <h3>Methods</h3> SARS-CoV-2 was passaged in BALB/c mice to obtain mouse-adapted virus strain. Complete genome deep sequencing of different generations of viruses was performed to characterize the dynamics of the adaptive mutations in SARS-CoV-2. Indirect immunofluorescence analysis and Biolayer interferometry experiments determined the binding affinity of mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 WBP-1 RBD to mouse ACE2 and human ACE2. Finally, we tested whether TLR7/8 agonist Resiquimod (R848) could also inhibit the replication of WBP-1 in the mouse model. <h3>Findings</h3> The mouse-adapted strain WBP-1 showed increased infectivity in BALB/c mice and led to severe interstitial pneumonia. We characterized the dynamics of the adaptive mutations in SARS-CoV-2 and demonstrated that Q493K and Q498H in RBD significantly increased its binding affinity towards mouse ACE2. Additionally, the study tentatively found that the TLR7/8 agonist Resiquimod was able to protect mice against WBP-1 challenge. Therefore, this mouse-adapted strain is a useful tool to investigate COVID-19 and develop new therapies. <h3>Interpretation</h3> We found for the first time that the Q493K and Q498H mutations in the RBD of WBP-1 enhanced its interactive affinities with mACE2. The mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 provides a valuable tool for the evaluation of novel antiviral and vaccine strategies. This study also tentatively verified the antiviral activity of TLR7/8 agonist Resiquimod against SARS-CoV-2 in <i>vitro</i> and in <i>vivo</i>. <h3>Funding</h3> This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2020YFC0845600) and Emergency Science and Technology Project of Hubei Province (2020FCA046) and Robert A. Welch Foundation (C-1565).

Q493K and Q498H substitutions in Spike promote adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 in mice