Coinfection with influenza A virus enhances SARS-CoV-2 infectivity
Top Cited Papers
- 18 February 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Cell Research
- Vol. 31 (4), 395-403
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-021-00473-1
Abstract
The upcoming flu season in the Northern Hemisphere merging with the current COVID-19 pandemic raises a potentially severe threat to public health. Through experimental coinfection with influenza A virus (IAV) and either pseudotyped or live SARS-CoV-2 virus, we found that IAV preinfection significantly promoted the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in a broad range of cell types. Remarkably, in vivo, increased SARS-CoV-2 viral load and more severe lung damage were observed in mice coinfected with IAV. Moreover, such enhancement of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity was not observed with several other respiratory viruses, likely due to a unique feature of IAV to elevate ACE2 expression. This study illustrates that IAV has a unique ability to aggravate SARS-CoV-2 infection, and thus, prevention of IAV infection is of great significance during the COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Science Foundation of China | National Natural Science Foundation of China-Yunnan Joint Fund (31922004)
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