Monday, 16 August 2021 12:00

Braunschweig scientists identify three viable cell lines for SARS-CoV-2 research Featured

An international team led by Dr. Claudia Pommerenke and Dr. Cord Uphoff from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ has identified three cell lines that are suitable as model systems for SARS-CoV-2 research.


In corona research, in vitro model systems are used to study the entry of the virus into the cell and the subsequent replication and release of virus particles especially under the influence of drugs. So far, the scientific focus has been on three cell lines, one of which even originates from monkeys, report scientists from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH.

Together with his colleagues, cell biologist Dr. Cord Uphoff from DSMZ has examined more than 300 human cancer cell lines for their suitability as a model system. They discovered that the presence of the surface proteins ACE2 and TMPRSS2 is not in itself crucial for SARS-CoV-2 to enter the cell.

Most of the cell lines they had previously deemed suitable and exposed to coronavirus in tests did not respond at all, while other cell lines produced only small amounts of infectious virus.  This was the case despite the fact that they carry both ACE2 and TMPRSS2 receptors. Only three cell lines showed high levels of uptake, replication, and release of coronavirus particles.

The science team concluded that not only the known surface receptors but also changes in the composition of surface proteins through amino acid exchanges could have a significant impact on the uptake of coronavirus into the cell. Other parameters such as the available resources within a cell, its intrinsic immunity, or impending apoptosis would also have to be taken into account.

The scientists published their results in the renowned journal PLOS ONE.
Pommerenke C., Rand U., Uphoff C., Nagel S., Zaborski M., Hauer V., Kaufmann M., Meyer C., Denkmann S., Riese P., Eschke K., Kim Y., Safranko Z.M., Kurolt I.C., Markotic A., Cicin-Sain L., Steenpass L. (2021) Identification of CL-14, CL-40, and CAL-51 cell lines as suitable models for SARS-CoV-2 infection studies. PLoS One. 2021 Aug 2;16(8):e0255622. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255622. eCollection 2021.

Source:
https://www.dsmz.de/press/press-releases/singleview/corona-research-the-right-cell-model-is-essential