Pharmacological disruption of mSWI/SNF complex activity restricts SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abstract

Identification of host determinants of coronavirus infection informs mechanisms of viral pathogenesis and can provide new drug targets. Here we demonstrate that mammalian SWItch/Sucrose Non-Fermentable (mSWI/SNF) chromatin remodeling complexes, specifically canonical BRG1/BRM-associated factor (cBAF) complexes, promote severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and represent host-directed therapeutic targets. The catalytic activity of SMARCA4 is required for mSWI/SNF-driven chromatin accessibility at the ACE2 locus, ACE2 expression and virus susceptibility. The transcription factors HNF1A/B interact with and recruit mSWI/SNF complexes to ACE2 enhancers, which contain high HNF1A motif density. Notably, small-molecule mSWI/SNF ATPase inhibitors or degraders abrogate angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression and confer resistance to SARS-CoV-2 variants and a remdesivir-resistant virus in three cell lines and three primary human cell types, including airway epithelial cells, by up to 5 logs. These data highlight the role of mSWI/SNF complex activities in conferring SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and identify a potential class of broad-acting antivirals to combat emerging coronaviruses and drug-resistant variants.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2023
Source ID
10.1038/s41588-023-01307-z

Entities

People

  • Adolfo García-Sastre
  • Ajinkya Patil
  • Akiko Iwasaki
  • Andrew Mcnamara
  • Arya Ökten
  • Briana L. McGovern
  • Bridget L Menasche
  • Cigall Kadoch
  • Clayton K. Collings
  • Craig B Wilen
  • Jin Wei
  • John G Doench
  • Jon Klein
  • Jun Qi
  • Kris M White
  • M. Luis Rodriguez
  • Madison S Strine
  • Mario A. Peña-hernández
  • Mia Madel Alfajaro
  • Peter C. DeWeirdt
  • Qin Yan
  • Renata B. Filler
  • Romel Rosales
  • Ruth E. Hanna
  • Thomas P. Zwaka
  • Wesley L. Cai
  • Yiren Qin
  • Yu Liang

Organizations

  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund
  • G. Harold & Leila Y. Mathers Foundation
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
  • National Science Foundation
  • Office of the Director
  • Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation
  • United States Department of Defense

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Breast cancer cell signaling and growth regulation.
  • Infectious Disease/Epidemiology
  • Molecular and genetic basis of cancer.