SARS-CoV-2 Spike Pseudovirions

Because of the high pathogenicity and infectivity, SARS-CoV-2 must be handled under biosafety level 3 (BSL3) conditions. This hinders the development of vaccines and therapeutics. Pseudoviruses have been found a useful virological tool due to its safety and versatility. A pseudovirus-based neutralization assay has also been used in evaluating neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in biosafety level 2 facilities. We developed SARS-COV-2 spike pseudotyped lentiviral particles (SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirions) carry luciferase gene, which will allow to monitor virus infection. The pseudovirus were produced with SARS-CoV-2 Spike (Genbank Accession #QHD43416.1) as the envelope glycoproteins instead of the commonly used VSV-G. The SARS-CoV-2 Spike pseudovirions can be used in Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) facilities. It can be used for the study of the mechanism of viral transduction and the screening for chemical compounds or neutralizing antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 Spike and ACE2.