Pseudotyped Luciferase rSARS-CoV-2 Spike, B.1.1.318 UK

SARS-CoV-2 Pseudovirus (B.1.1.318 UK) are used to test the ability of serum, antibodies, and drugs to neutralize the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Pseudovirus display antigenically correct spike protein pseudotyped on replication-incompetent virus particles that contain a heterologous lentiviral (HIV) core. Pseudovirus are capable of a single round of infection and carry a genome that expresses luciferase optical reporter gene upon infection. Pseudovirus are produced in HEK293T cells using three separate plasmids, encoding the spike protein (T95I, ΔY144, E484K, D614G, P681H, D796H), a lentiviral gag polyprotein, and a reporter gene. Pseudovirus are created using a second-generation lentiviral system with components that are highly unlikely to recombine to produce a fully infectious virus (requiring 3 separate recombination events to do so). However, lentiviruses are capable of genomic integration and Pseudovirus are derived from biological materials so should be handled with caution within a BSL2 or enhanced BSL2 laboratory environment.