Furthermore, we show that spike‐carrying EVs act as decoy targets for convalescent patient serum‐derived nAbs, reducing their effectiveness in blocking viral entry. Here, using mass spectrometry and nanoscale flow cytometry (NFC) approaches, we demonstrate that SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein can be incorporated into EVs. Given their shared characteristics, we hypothesized that EVs released from spike‐expressing cells could carry spike and serve as decoys for anti‐spike nAbs, promoting viral infection. EVs and viruses enclosed within lipid membranes share some characteristics: they are small, sub‐micron particles and they overlap in cellular biogenesis and egress routes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small membraned particles constitutively released by cells, including virally‐infected cells. SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein is responsible for viral entry and binds to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on host cells, making it a major target of the immune system – particularly neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) that are induced by infection or vaccines.
SARS‐CoV‐2 and the disease it causes, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), spread rapidly and became a global pandemic in early 2020. In late 2019, a novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) emerged in Wuhan, China.
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