Novel Human Lung Tissue Model for the Study of SARS-CoV-2 Entry, Inflammation and New Therapeutics ; Human lung for the study of SARS-CoV-2
The development of physiological models that reproduce SARS-CoV-2 infection in primary human cells will be instrumental to identify host-pathogen interactions and potential therapeutics. Here, using cell suspensions from primary human lung tissues (HLT), we have developed a platform for the identification of viral targets and the expression of viral entry factors, as well as for the screening of viral entry inhibitors and anti-inflammatory compounds. We show that the HLT model preserves its main cell populations, maintains the expression of proteins required for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and identifies alveolar type II (AT-II) cells as the most susceptible cell targets for SARS-CoV-2 in the human lung. Antiviral testing of 39 drug candidates revealed a highly reproducible system, and provided the identification of new compounds missed by conventional systems such as VeroE6. Using this model, we also show that interferons do not modulate ACE2 expression, and that stimulation of local inflammatory responses can be modulated by different compounds with antiviral activity. Overall, we present a novel and relevant physiological model for the study of SARS-CoV-2. ; This work was primarily supported by a grant from the Health Department of the Government of Catalonia (DGRIS 1_5). This work was additionally supported in part by the Spanish Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII, PI17/01470), the Spanish Secretariat of Science and Innovation and FEDER funds (grant RTI2018-101082-B-I00 [MINECO/FEDER]), the Spanish AIDS network Red Temática Cooperativa de Investigación en SIDA (RD16/0025/0007), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Fundació La Marató TV3 (grants 201805-10FMTV3 and 201814-10FMTV3), the Gilead fellowships GLD19/00084 and GLD18/00008 and the Becas Taller Argal 2020. M.J.B is supported by the Miguel Servet program funded by the Spanish Health Institute Carlos III (CP17/00179). N.M. is supported by a Ph.D. fellowship from the Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, the decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ; No