Virological characteristics correlating with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein fusogenicity

Abstract

Introduction The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein is essential in mediating membrane fusion of the virus with the target cells. Several reports demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 S protein fusogenicity is reportedly closely associated with the intrinsic pathogenicity of the virus determined using hamster models. However, the association between S protein fusogenicity and other virological parameters remains elusive. Methods In this study, we investigated the virological parameters (e.g., S1/S2 cleavage efficiency, plaque size, pseudoviral infectivity, pseudovirus entry efficiency, and viral replication kinetics) of eleven previous variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of interest (VOIs) correlating with S protein fusogenicity. Results and discussion S protein fusogenicity was found to be strongly correlated with S1/S2 cleavage efficiency and plaque size formed by clinical isolates. However, S protein fusogenicity was less associated with pseudoviral infectivity, pseudovirus entry efficiency, and viral replication kinetics. Taken together, our results suggest that S1/S2 cleavage efficiency and plaque size could be potential indicators to predict the intrinsic pathogenicity and S protein fusogenicity of newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 variants.