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Morphological analysis for two types of viral particles in vacuoles of SARS-CoV-2-infected cells

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Abstract

In this study, we analyzed the morphological structure of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human cells. We identified the two types of viral particles present within the vacuoles of infected cells. Using transmission electron microscopy, we observed that SARS-CoV-2 particles exhibited both low- and high-electron-density structures, which was further confirmed through three-dimensional reconstruction using electron tomography. The budding of these particles was exclusively observed within these vacuoles. Intriguingly, viral particles with low-electron-density structures were confined to vacuoles, whereas those with high-electron-density structures were found in vacuoles and on the cell membrane surface of infected cells. Notably, high-electron-density particles found within vacuoles exhibited the same morphology as those outside the infected cells. This observation suggests that the two types of viral particles identified in this study had different maturation status. Our findings provide valuable insights into the molecular details of SARS-CoV-2 particles, contributing to our understanding of the virus.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ms. Akiko Wakui of the Hitachi High-Tech Corporation for her technical help in electron tomography. We thank Mr. Taka-aki Ishizuka of the Center for Medical Research & Development, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, we also thank Ms. Keiko Ootani of the Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University for her help in the preparation of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Faculty of Medicine, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2-7 Daigaku-machi, Takatsuki, Osaka, 569-8686, Japan

    Hong Wu, Yoshihiko Fujioka, Shoichi Sakaguchi, Youichi Suzuki & Takashi Nakano

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  1. Hong Wu
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  2. Yoshihiko Fujioka
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  3. Shoichi Sakaguchi
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  4. Youichi Suzuki
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Correspondence to Hong Wu.

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Wu, H., Fujioka, Y., Sakaguchi, S. et al. Morphological analysis for two types of viral particles in vacuoles of SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. Med Mol Morphol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-024-00381-4

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