Wnt3a Facilitates SARS-CoV-2 Pseudovirus Entry into Cells

Overview

Journal Int J Mol Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Chemistry
Molecular Biology

Date 2024 Jan 11

PMID 38203386

Authors

Ivonne Melano

Hui-Jye Chen

Loveness Ngwira

Pang-Hung Hsu

Li-Lan Kuo

Lloyd Noriega

Wen-Chi Su

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

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.

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