1. S-acylation of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: Mechanistic dissection, in vitro reconstitution and role in viral infectivity.
- Author
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Puthenveetil R, Lun CM, Murphy RE, Healy LB, Vilmen G, Christenson ET, Freed EO, and Banerjee A
- Subjects
- Acylation, Acyltransferases genetics, Acyltransferases metabolism, Amino Acid Sequence, COVID-19 virology, Cysteine metabolism, HEK293 Cells, Humans, Lipoylation, Mutagenesis, Site-Directed, Recombinant Proteins biosynthesis, Recombinant Proteins chemistry, Recombinant Proteins isolation & purification, SARS-CoV-2 isolation & purification, Sequence Alignment, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus chemistry, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus genetics, Virus Internalization, COVID-19 pathology, SARS-CoV-2 metabolism, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus metabolism
- Abstract
S-acylation, also known as palmitoylation, is the most widely prevalent form of protein lipidation, whereby long-chain fatty acids get attached to cysteine residues facing the cytosol. In humans, 23 members of the zDHHC family of integral membrane enzymes catalyze this modification. S-acylation is critical for the life cycle of many enveloped viruses. The Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, has the most cysteine-rich cytoplasmic tail among known human pathogens in the closely related family of β-coronaviruses; however, it is unclear which of the cytoplasmic cysteines are S-acylated, and what the impact of this modification is on viral infectivity. Here we identify specific cysteine clusters in the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 that are targets of S-acylation. Interestingly, when we investigated the effect of the cysteine clusters using pseudotyped virus, mutation of the same three clusters of cysteines severely compromised viral infectivity. We developed a library of expression constructs of human zDHHC enzymes and used them to identify zDHHC enzymes that can S-acylate SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. Finally, we reconstituted S-acylation of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein in vitro using purified zDHHC enzymes. We observe a striking heterogeneity in the S-acylation status of the different cysteines in our in cellulo experiments, which, remarkably, was recapitulated by the in vitro assay. Altogether, these results bolster our understanding of a poorly understood posttranslational modification integral to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. This study opens up avenues for further mechanistic dissection and lays the groundwork toward developing future strategies that could aid in the identification of targeted small-molecule modulators., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)
- Published
- 2021
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