SARS-CoV-2 variants such as the delta or omicron variants, with higher transmission rates, accelerated the global COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, novel therapeutic strategies need to be deployed. The inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), interfering with viral entry by fluoxetine was reported. Here, we described the acid ceramidase as an additional target of fluoxetine. To discover these effects, we synthesized an ASM-independent fluoxetine derivative, AKS466. High-resolution SARS-CoV-2–RNA FISH and RTqPCR analyses demonstrate that AKS466 down-regulates viral gene expression. It is shown that SARS-CoV-2 deacidifies the lysosomal pH using the ORF3 protein. However, treatment with AKS488 or fluoxetine lowers the lysosomal pH. Our biochemical results show that AKS466 localizes to the endo-lysosomal replication compartments of infected cells, and demonstrate the enrichment of the viral genomic, minus-stranded RNA and mRNAs there. Both fluoxetine and AKS466 inhibit the acid ceramidase activity, cause endo-lysosomal ceramide elevation, and interfere with viral replication. Furthermore, Ceranib-2, a specific acid ceramidase inhibitor, reduces SARS-CoV-2 replication and, most importantly, the exogenous supplementation of C6-ceramide interferes with viral replication. These results support the hypotheses that the acid ceramidase is a SARS-CoV-2 host factor.
SARS-CoV-2的变异体,例如Delta或Omicron变异体,具有更高的传播率,加速了全球COVID-19大流行。因此,需要部署新的治疗策略。报道了通过氟西汀干扰病毒进入来抑制酸性鞘磷酸酶(ASM)的方法。在这里,我们描述了酸性酯酶作为氟西汀的另一个靶点。为了发现这些效果,我们合成了一种独立于ASM的氟西汀衍生物AKS466。高分辨率的SARS-CoV-2-RNA FISH和RTqPCR分析表明,AKS466降低了病毒基因表达。研究表明,SARS-CoV-2使用ORF3蛋白使溶酶体pH去酸化。然而,AKS488或氟西汀的处理降低了溶酶体pH。我们的生化结果表明,AKS466定位于感染细胞的内部溶酶体复制区域,并证明那里富集了病毒基因组、负链RNA和mRNA。氟西汀和AKS466均抑制酸性酯酶活性,导致内部溶酶体酰胺升高,并干扰病毒复制。此外,一种特异性酸性酯酶抑制剂Ceranib-2可以减少SARS-CoV-2的复制,最重要的是,外源性C6-酰胺的补充干扰了病毒的复制。这些结果支持酸性酯酶是SARS-CoV-2宿主因子的假设。