Identification of cell lines CL-14, CL-40 and CAL-51 as suitable models for SARS-CoV-2 infection studies

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a major global threat that sparked global research efforts. Pre-clinical and biochemical SARS-CoV-2 studies firstly rely on cell culture experiments where the importance of choosing an appropriate cell culture model is often underestimated. We here present a bottom-up approach to identify suitable permissive cancer cell lines for drug screening and virus research. Human cancer cell lines were screened for the SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2 based on RNA-seq data of the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE). However, experimentally testing permissiveness towards SARS-CoV-2 infection, we found limited correlation between receptor expression and permissiveness. This underlines that permissiveness of cells towards viral infection is determined not only by the presence of entry receptors but is defined by the availability of cellular resources, intrinsic immunity, and apoptosis. Aside from established cell culture infection models CACO-2 and CALU-3, three highly permissive human cell lines, colon cancer cell lines CL-14 and CL-40 and the breast cancer cell line CAL-51 and several low permissive cell lines were identified. Cell lines were characterised in more detail offering a broader choice of non-overexpression in vitro infection models to the scientific community. For some cell lines a truncated ACE2 mRNA and missense variants in TMPRSS2 might hint at disturbed host susceptibility towards viral entry.

Automated summary

This study aims to identify suitable cancer cell lines for drug screening and virus research by screening ACE2 and TMPRSS2 genes in cancer cell lines; however, limited correlation between receptor expression and cell permissiveness was found in experimental results; in terms of viral infection, cell permissiveness is not only influenced by the presence of entry receptors but also by factors such as cellular resources, intrinsic immunity, and apoptosis.