We discovered a novel therapeutic target critical for SARS-CoV-2, cellular infectivity and the induction of the cytokine release syndrome. Here, we show that the mammalian enzyme neuraminidase-1 (Neu-1) is part of a highly conserved signaling platform that regulates the dimerization and activation of the ACE2 receptors and the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) implicated in the cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Activated Neu-1 cleaves glycosylated residues that provide a steric hindrance to both ACE2 and TLR dimerization, a process critical to both viral attachment to the receptor and entry into the cell and TLR activation. Blocking Neu-1 inhibited ACE2 receptor dimerization and internalization, TLR dimerization and activation, and the expression of several key inflammatory molecules implicated in the CRS and death from ARDS. Treatments that target Neu-1 are predicted to be highly effective against infection with SARS-CoV-2, given the central role played by this enzyme in viral cellular entry and the induction of the CRS.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; Toll-like receptors; angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; cytokine release syndrome; neuraminidase-1.