SARS-CoV-2 induces double-stranded RNA-mediated innate immune responses in respiratory epithelial derived cells and cardiomyocytes

Coronaviruses are adept at evading and/or antagonizing double-stranded RNA-induced host antiviral pathways, including interferon signaling, OAS-RNase L and PKR while robust cytokine responses characterize severe coronavirus disease. Knowledge of how newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 interacts with these pathways is minimal. SARS-CoV-2 readily infects patient-derived nasal epithelial cells and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived alveolar type 2 cells(iAT2) and cardiomyocytes(iCM). Robust activation of interferons or RNase L is not observed, while PKR activation is evident in iAT2 and iCM. In SARS-CoV-2 infected Calu-3 and A549ACE2 lung derived cell lines, activation of all pathways is observed, similar to a mutant MERS-CoV lacking innate immune antagonists. Moreover, increased replication in RNASEL knockout A549ACE2 cells, implicates RNase L in restricting SARS-CoV-2. Finally, while SARS-CoV-2 is less adept at antagonizing these host defense pathways compared to other coronaviruses, the innate immune response is still generally weak. These host-virus interactions may contribute to the unique pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2.