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Generation of SARS-CoV-2 reporter replicon for high-throughput antiviral screening and testing

2021; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 118; Issue: 15 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.2025866118

1091-6490

Xi He, Shuo Quan, Min Xu, Silveria Rodriguez, Shih Lin Goh, Jiajie Wei, Arthur Fridman, Kenneth A. Koeplinger, Steve S. Carroll, Jay A. Grobler, Amy S. Espeseth, David B. Olsen, Daria J. Hazuda, Dai Wang,

Respiratory viral infections research

Significance The urgency of curbing the COVID-19 pandemic has motivated many investigators to pivot their research to understand the basic biology of SARS-CoV-2 and to search for new pharmaceutical compounds for potential COVID-19 treatment. However, most SARS-CoV-2 studies require biosafety level 3 facilities, which are in high demand, costly, and difficult to access. To overcome these limitations, we engineered a SARS-CoV-2 replicon, which is a modified virus subgenome capable of self-replicating without producing infectious virus, allowing the viral replication to be studied in a conventional biomedical laboratory setting. The replicon system also provides a valuable tool to screen and test antiviral compounds in biologically relevant cells. Successful implementation of the technology will accelerate the development of effective treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection.