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Establishing Human Lung Organoids and Proximal Differentiation to Generate Mature Airway Organoids

The lack of a robust in vitro model of the human respiratory epithelium hinders the understanding of the biology and pathology of the respiratory system. ...

The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Science and Technology Park

Glycine decarboxylase (GLDC) was prioritized as a candidate susceptibility gene to severe influenza in humans. The higher expression of GLDC derived from genetic variations may confer a higher risk to H7N9 and severe H1N1 infection. We sought to characterize GLDC as functional susceptibility gene that GLDC may intrinsically regulate antiviral response, thereby impacting viral replication and disease outcome. We demonstrated that GLDC inhibitor AOAA and siRNA depletion boosted IFNβ- and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) in combination with PolyI:C stimulation. GLDC inhibition and depletion significantly amplified antiviral response of type I IFNs and ISGs upon viral infection and suppressed the replication of H1N1 and H7N9 viruses. Consistently, GLDC overexpression significantly promoted viral replication due to the attenuated antiviral responses. Moreover, GLDC inhibition in H1N1-infected BALB/c mice recapitulated the amplified antiviral response and suppressed viral growth. AOAA provided potent protection to the infected mice from lethal infection, comparable to a standard antiviral against influenza viruses. Collectively, GLDC regulates cellular antiviral response and orchestrates viral growth. GLDC is a functional susceptibility gene to severe influenza in humans.

Identification and characterization of GLDC as host susceptibility gene to severe influenza.

Human infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) poses an ongoing threat to public health worldwide. The studies of MERS patients with severe disease and experimentally infected animals showed that robust viral replication and intensive proinflammatory response in lung tissues contribute to high pathogenicity of MERS-CoV. We sought to identify pattern recognition receptor (PRR) signaling pathway(s) that mediates the inflammatory cascade in human macrophages upon MERS-CoV infection.

Activation of C-Type Lectin Receptor and (RIG)-I-Like Receptors Contributes to Proinflammatory Response in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-Infected Macrophages.

A novel coronavirus-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-emerged in humans in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and has since disseminated globally. As of April 16, 2020, the confirmed case count of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had surpassed 2 million. Based on full-genome sequence analysis, SARS-CoV-2 shows high homology to SARS-related coronaviruses identified in horseshoe bats. Here we show the establishment and characterization of expandable intestinal organoids derived from horseshoe bats of the Rhinolophus sinicus species that can recapitulate bat intestinal epithelium. These bat enteroids are fully susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and sustain robust viral replication. Development of gastrointestinal symptoms in some patients with COVID-19 and detection of viral RNA in fecal specimens suggest that SARS-CoV-2 might cause enteric, in addition to respiratory, infection. Here we demonstrate active replication of SARS-CoV-2 in human intestinal organoids and isolation of infectious virus from the stool specimen of a patient with diarrheal COVID-19. Collectively, we established the first expandable organoid culture system of bat intestinal epithelium and present evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can infect bat intestinal cells. The robust SARS-CoV-2 replication in human intestinal organoids suggests that the human intestinal tract might be a transmission route of SARS-CoV-2.

Infection of bat and human intestinal organoids by SARS-CoV-2.

Rapid accumulation of viral proteins in host cells render viruses highly dependent on cellular chaperones including heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90). Three highly pathogenic human coronaviruses, including MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, have emerged in the past 2 decades. However, there is no approved antiviral agent against these coronaviruses. We inspected the role of Hsp90 for coronavirus propagation. First, an Hsp90 inhibitor, 17-AAG, significantly suppressed MERS-CoV propagation in cell lines and physiological-relevant human intestinal organoids. Second, siRNA depletion of Hsp90β, but not Hsp90α, significantly restricted MERS-CoV replication and abolished virus spread. Third, Hsp90β interaction with MERS-CoV nucleoprotein (NP) was revealed in a co-immunoprecipitation assay. Hsp90β is required to maintain NP stability. Fourth, 17-AAG substantially inhibited the propagation of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Collectively, Hsp90 is a host dependency factor for human coronavirus MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and SARS-COV-2. Hsp90 inhibitors can be repurposed as a potent and broad-spectrum antiviral against human coronaviruses.

Human coronavirus dependency on host heat shock protein 90 reveals an antiviral target.

Enteroviruses, such as EV-A71 and CVA16, mainly infect the human gastrointestinal tract. Human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, have been variably associated with gastrointestinal symptoms. We aimed to optimize the human intestinal organoids and hypothesize that these optimized intestinal organoids can recapitulate enteric infections of enterovirus and coronavirus. We demonstrate that the optimized human intestinal organoids enable better simulation of the native human intestinal epithelium, and that they are significantly more susceptible to EV-A71 than CVA16. Higher replication of EV-A71 than CVA16 in the intestinal organoids triggers a more vigorous cellular response. However, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 exhibit distinct dynamics of virus-host interaction; more robust propagation of SARS-CoV triggers minimal cellular response, whereas, SARS-CoV-2 exhibits lower replication capacity but elicits a moderate cellular response. Taken together, the disparate profile of the virus-host interaction of enteroviruses and coronaviruses in human intestinal organoids may unravel the cellular basis of the distinct pathogenicity of these viral pathogens.

Human Intestinal Organoids Recapitulate Enteric Infections of Enterovirus and Coronavirus.

SPINK6 was identified in human skin as a cellular inhibitor of serine proteases of the KLK family. Airway serine proteases are required to cleave hemagglutinin (HA) of influenza A viruses (IAVs) to initiate an infection in the human airway. We hypothesized that SPINK6 may inhibit common airway serine proteases and restrict IAV activation. We demonstrate that SPINK6 specifically suppresses the proteolytic activity of HAT and KLK5, HAT- and KLK5-mediated HA cleavage, and restricts virus maturation and replication. SPINK6 constrains the activation of progeny virions and impairs viral growth; and vice versa, blocking endogenous SPINK6 enhances HA cleavage and viral growth in physiological-relevant human airway organoids where SPINK6 is intrinsically expressed. In IAV-infected mice, SPINK6 significantly suppresses viral growth and improves mouse survival. Notably, individuals carrying the higher SPINK6 expression allele were protected from human H7N9 infection. Collectively, SPINK6 is a novel host inhibitor of serine proteases in the human airway and restricts IAV activation.

Xiaojuan Liu

Department of Microbiology,
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine,
Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine

The University of Hong Kong

Establishing Human Lung Organoids and Proximal Differentiation to Generate Mature Airway Organoids

Xiaojuan Liu

Department of Microbiology,Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine,Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine

The University of Hong Kong

Establishing Human Lung Organoids and Proximal Differentiation to Generate Mature Airway Organoids

Department of Microbiology,
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine,
Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine