Development of cell-based pseudovirus entry assay to identify potential viral entry inhibitors and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)is the causative virus of the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic.To establish a safe and convenient assay system for studying entry inhibitors and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2,we constructed a codon-optimized,full-length C-terminal mutant spike(S)gene of SARS-CoV-2.We generated a luciferase(Luc)-expressing pseudovirus containing the wild-type or mutant S protein of SARS-CoV-2 in the envelope-defective HIV-1 backbone.The key parameters for this pseudovirus-based assay,including the S mutants and virus incubation time,were optimized.This pseudovirus contains a Luc reporter gene that enabled us to easily quantify virus entry into angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE2)-expressing 293T cells.Cathepsin(Cat)B/L inhibitor E64d could significantly block SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection in 293T-ACE2 cells.Furthermore,the SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped virus could be neutralized by sera from convalescent COVID-19 patients or recombinant ACE2 with the fused Fc region of human IgG1.Thus,we developed a pseudovirus-based assay for SARS-CoV-2,which will be valuable for evaluating viral entry inhibitors and neutralizing antibodies against this highly pathogenic virus.