Letter to the Editor
"Dear Editor,
The current pandemic of beta-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has exerted devastating influence on almost all countries, resulting in the disease named COVID-19. Coronavirus possesses the largest RNA genome among all the RNA viruses. Its genome encodes about 29 proteins. The subcellular distributions of the viral proteins have yet been reported for SARS-CoV-2. It is important to investigate the viral proteins’ locations in cells because the subcellular distribution information not only helps us in understanding how viruses interact with the host cells but also provides clues in fighting against the viral infection. Therefore, we cloned all the genes of SARS-CoV-2 into vectors for expression in mammalian cells and used immunofluorescent assay (IFA) to examine the viral proteins’ subcellular location...
In a systemic attempt of revealing the subcellular locations of SARS-CoV-2 proteins, we transfected each plasmid into HEp-2 cells for 20 h, then the cells were fixed for IFA using anti-FLAG antibody to show the viral protein and anti-CoxIV to show the mitochondria or anti-Giantin to show the Golgi apparatus.
[T]he viral proteins are either cytoplasmic (NSP2, NSP3C, NSP4, NSP8, Spike, M, N, ORF3a, ORF3b, ORF6, ORF7a, ORF7b, ORF8, ORF9b and ORF10) or both nuclear and cytoplasmic (NSP1, NSP3N, NSP5, NSP6, NSP7, NSP9, NSP10, NSP12, NSP13, NSP14, NSP15, NSP16, E and ORF9a)...
[W]e molecularly cloned all the genes of SARS-CoV-2 and applied a systemic IFA to characterize the subcellular distribution of the viral proteins. Our results provide the field with new insight into the biological functions of SARS-CoV-2 proteins because the localization of the protein to the site of a cell implies that the protein might play its biological function in the subcellular location. However, a detailed study should be conducted in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cells because viral proteins from transfection may behave differently than that from viral infection."
© The Author(s) 2020
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