WIN 55,212-2 shows anti-inflammatory and survival properties in human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes infected with SARS-CoV-2

This article has been Reviewed by the following groups

Read the full article See related articles

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which can infect several organs, especially impacting respiratory capacity. Among the extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19 is myocardial injury, which is associated with a high risk of mortality. Myocardial injury, caused directly or indirectly by SARS-CoV-2 infection, can be triggered by inflammatory processes that cause damage to the heart tissue. Since one of the hallmarks of severe COVID-19 is the “cytokine storm”, strategies to control inflammation caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection have been considered. Cannabinoids are known to have anti-inflammatory properties by negatively modulating the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Herein, we investigated the effects of the cannabinoid agonist WIN 55,212-2 (WIN) in human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) infected with SARS-CoV-2. WIN did not modify angiotensin-converting enzyme II protein levels, nor reduced viral infection and replication in hiPSC-CMs. On the other hand, WIN reduced the levels of interleukins 6, 8, 18 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) released by infected cells, and attenuated cytotoxic damage measured by the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Our findings suggest that cannabinoids should be further explored as a complementary therapeutic tool for reducing inflammation in COVID-19 patients.

Article activity feed

  1. SciScore for 10.1101/2021.02.20.431855: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    BlindingPlaque numbers were scored in at least 3 replicates per dilution by independent readers blinded to the experimental group and the virus titers were determined by plaque-forming units (PFU) per milliliter. 2.5.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Cell Line Authenticationnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Antibodies
    SentencesResources
    Cardiomyocytes were incubated in primary antibodies diluted in a blocking buffer at 4° overnight (anti-SARS-CoV-2 convalescent serum from a positive COVID-19 patient (1:1000) and anti-cardiac troponin T (TNNT2) (1:500, MA5-12960 - Invitrogen).
    anti-SARS-CoV-2
    suggested: None
    anti-cardiac troponin T (TNNT2
    suggested: (Hytest Cat# RC4T19-RecChim406, RRID:AB_2889127)
    Next, cardiomyocytes were incubated with the secondary antibody diluted in a blocking buffer: goat anti-Human Alexa Fluor 647 (1:400; A-21445 - Invitrogen) and goat anti-Mouse 594 (1:400; A-11032 - Invitrogen) for 1h.
    anti-Human Alexa Fluor 647
    suggested: (Molecular Probes Cat# A-21445, RRID:AB_2535862)
    Membranes were incubated overnight at 4°C with primary antibodies anti-ACE2 (1: 1000; MA5-32307 - Thermo Fisher), anti-ACTIN (1: 2000; MAB1501, Millipore) diluted in TBS-T with 5% non-fat milk and anti-CB1 (1:500; SC-10066, Santa Cruz).
    anti-ACE2
    suggested: (Thermo Fisher Scientific Cat# MA5-32307, RRID:AB_2809589)
    anti-ACTIN
    suggested: (Millipore Cat# MAB1501, RRID:AB_2223041)
    anti-CB1
    suggested: (Santa Cruz Biotechnology Cat# sc-10066, RRID:AB_637711)
    SC-10066
    suggested: None
    Membranes were washed to be incubated with peroxidase-conjugated antibodies IgG (H + L), HRP-conjugate: goat anti-mouse (1: 10.000, G21040, Molecular Probes) goat anti-rabbit (1: 10.000, G21234, Molecular Probes) and rabbit anti-goat (1: 2.000, 61-1620, Invitrogen).
    anti-mouse
    suggested: None
    anti-rabbit
    suggested: (Innovative Research Cat# G-21234, RRID:AB_1500696)
    anti-goat
    suggested: None
    Experimental Models: Cell Lines
    SentencesResources
    SARS-CoV-2 titration: For virus titration, monolayers of Vero E6 cells (2 × 104 cell/well) in 96-well plates were infected with serial dilutions of supernatants containing SARS-CoV-2 for 1 hour at 37°C.
    Vero E6
    suggested: None
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Cytokine multiplex assay and LDH cytotoxicity assay: A multiplex biometric immunoassay containing fluorescent dyed microbeads was used for plasma cytokine measurement (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA, USA).
    Bio-Rad Laboratories
    suggested: (Bio-Rad Laboratories, RRID:SCR_008426)
    Next, membranes were blocked again and proceeded with the above-described steps. 2.11. Statistics: Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPadPrism software version 8.0 (GraphPad, EUA).
    GraphPad
    suggested: (GraphPad Prism, RRID:SCR_002798)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).


    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.


    Results from Barzooka: We found bar graphs of continuous data. We recommend replacing bar graphs with more informative graphics, as many different datasets can lead to the same bar graph. The actual data may suggest different conclusions from the summary statistics. For more information, please see Weissgerber et al (2015).


    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.


    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.