Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40885856›Full record

ArticleCommunications biology2025

Engineering virus-like particles for safe and versatile modeling of SARS-CoV-2 host interaction and immune escape.

Liang Ma, Yuan Lin, Siyu Ma, Kai Chen, Yihan Lin

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Liang Ma *Center for Quantitative Biology and Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9039-7109
Yuan Lin *Peking University Chengdu Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Biotechnologies, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Siyu MaCenter for Quantitative Biology and Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Kai ChenCenter for Quantitative Biology and Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Yihan LinCenter for Quantitative Biology and Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China. yihan.lin@pku.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2763-5538

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32088101National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) T2321001National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) T2325002
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The continuous evolution of SARS-CoV-2 poses global health challenges. A safe, rapid, and versatile method for assessing functions of Spike protein mutations in ACE2 receptor binding and immune evasion would be highly valuable. To address this, we engineered a transcription- and replication-competent virus-like particle (trVLP) derived from the Sindbis virus, pseudotyped with the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD). This trVLP exclusively propagates in BHK-21 cells engineered to express both RNA replicase and human ACE2, providing a controllable, safe model of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-ACE2 interaction-mediated virus entry. The system enables characterization of RBD interactions with ACE2 from various mammalian hosts, demonstrating its utility for studying host-virus interactions. By leveraging the evolutionary capability of trVLP mediated by error-prone RNA replication, we screened for RBD variants that evade the antibody-mediated inhibition of cell entry. Together, these findings underscore the utility of the trVLP as a safe, rapid, and flexible platform for dissecting SARS-CoV-2 RBD evolution and identifying key adaptive mutations with implications for surveillance and countermeasure development.

Indexed as

COVID-19Host-Pathogen InteractionsImmune EvasionSARS-CoV-2Spike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusAngiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2AnimalsCell LineCricetinaeHumansMutationVirus InternalizationVirus ReplicationACE2 protein, humanAngiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirusspike protein, SARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID40885856
PMCPMC12398559

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.