Antigens from the Helminth Fasciola hepatica Exert Antiviral Effects against SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro
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Published:2023-07-18
Issue:14
Volume:24
Page:11597
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ISSN:1422-0067
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Container-title:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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language:en
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Short-container-title:IJMS
Author:
Serrat Judit1ORCID,
Francés-Gómez Clara2ORCID,
Becerro-Recio David1ORCID,
González-Miguel Javier1ORCID,
Geller Ron2ORCID,
Siles-Lucas Mar1
Affiliation:
1. Laboratory of Helminth Parasites of Zoonotic Importance (ATENEA), Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Salamanca (IRNASA-CSIC), C/Cordel de Merinas 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
2. Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Universidad de Valencia-CSIC, 46980 Valencia, Spain
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2, the causal agent of COVID-19, is a new coronavirus that has rapidly spread worldwide and significantly impacted human health by causing a severe acute respiratory syndrome boosted by a pulmonary hyperinflammatory response. Previous data from our lab showed that the newly excysted juveniles of the helminth parasite Fasciola hepatica (FhNEJ) modulate molecular routes within host cells related to vesicle-mediated transport and components of the innate immune response, which could potentially be relevant during viral infections. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine whether FhNEJ-derived molecules influence SARS-CoV-2 infection efficiency in Vero cells. Pre-treatment of Vero cells with a tegument-enriched antigenic extract of FhNEJ (FhNEJ-TEG) significantly reduced infection by both vesicular stomatitis virus particles pseudotyped with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein (VSV-S2) and live SARS-CoV-2. Pre-treatment of the virus itself with FhNEJ-TEG prior to infection also resulted in reduced infection efficiency similar to that obtained by remdesivir pre-treatment. Remarkably, treatment of Vero cells with FhNEJ-TEG after VSV-S2 entry also resulted in reduced infection efficiency, suggesting that FhNEJ-TEG may also affect post-entry steps of the VSV replication cycle. Altogether, our results could potentially encourage the production of FhNEJ-derived molecules in a safe, synthetic format for their application as therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2 and other related respiratory viruses.
Funder
European Commission—Next Generation EU fund
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
the Junta de Castilla y León
the European Union
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Subject
Inorganic Chemistry,Organic Chemistry,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Computer Science Applications,Spectroscopy,Molecular Biology,General Medicine,Catalysis
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