Differential downregulation of ACE2 by the spike proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and human coronavirus NL63.

Glowacka, Ilona; Bertram, Stephanie; Herzog, Petra; Pfefferle, Susanne; Steffen, Imke; Muench, Marcus O; Simmons, Graham; Hofmann, Heike; Kuri, Thomas; Weber, Friedemann; Eichler, Jutta; Drosten, Christian; Pöhlmann, Stefan

The human coronaviruses (CoVs) severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and NL63 employ angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for cell entry. It was shown that recombinant SARS-CoV spike protein (SARS-S) downregulates ACE2 expression and thereby promotes lung injury. Whether NL63-S exerts a similar activity is yet unknown. We found that recombinant SARS-S bound to ACE2 and induced ACE2 shedding with higher efficiency than NL63-S. Shedding most likely accounted for the previously observed ACE2 downregulation but was dispensable for viral replication. Finally, SARS-CoV but not NL63 replicated efficiently in ACE2-positive Vero cells and reduced ACE2 expression, indicating robust receptor interference in the context of SARS-CoV but not NL63 infection.