Identification of TMEM106B as proviral host factor for SARS-CoV-2

Baggen, Jim; Persoons, Leentje; Jansen, Sander; Vanstreels, Els; Jacquemyn, Maarten; Jochmans, Dirk; Neyts, Johan; Dallmeier, Kai; Maes, Piet; Daelemans, Dirk

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for worldwide economic damage and nearly one million deaths. Potent drugs for the treatment of severe SARS-CoV-2 infections are not yet available. To identify host factors that support coronavirus infection, we performed genome-wide functional genetic screens with SARS-CoV-2 and the common cold virus HCoV-229E in non-transgenic human cells. These screens identified PI3K type 3 as a potential drug target against multiple coronaviruses. We discovered that the lysosomal protein TMEM106B is an important host factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, we show that TMEM106B is required for replication in multiple human cell lines derived from liver and lung and is expressed in relevant cell types in the human airways. Our results identify new coronavirus host factors that may potentially serve as drug targets against SARS-CoV-2 or to quickly combat future zoonotic coronavirus outbreaks.