Cell fusion of 293T-S (SARS-CoV-2-Spike expressing 293T cells) and 293T-ACE2 (ACE2 expressing 293T cells) at 2 hour

A distinctive feature of the SARS-CoV-2-Spike is its ability to efficiently mediate the fusion of virus with host cells and the formation of multinucleated giant cells. The syncytia formed by fusion of the cells expressing SARS-CoV-2-Spike was reported to undergo pyroptosis or apoptosis. Here in this study, with the goal of exploring the fate and mechanism of SARS-CoV-2-Spike induced syncytia, we cocultured the SARS-CoV-2-Spike expressing 293T cells (293T-S) with ACE2 expressing 293T cells (293T-ACE2) at a 1:1 ratio, and RNA-sequencing experiments were performed at 2h.