SARS-CoV-2 S protein activates the HIV latent reservoir through the mTOR pathway

Abstract During the global COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA vaccines using the S protein as antigen were widely used.Vaccine-induced S proteins can persist in vivo for weeks, triggering low-level immune activation. HIV latent reservoir maintenance is a major challenge for ART therapy, especially when immune pressure is waning. This then raises critical questions for HIV-infected patients: does prolonged exposure to S proteins affect HIV latent reservoir stability? Recent studies have pointed out that S proteins may activate the mTOR signaling pathway, which in turn affects the immune response and metabolic processes of cells. And the mTOR pathway is closely related to the maintenance and activation of HIV latent reservoir. However, how S proteins affect the HIV latent reservoir and the mechanism of activation are unclear. To explore the mechanism of how SARS-CoV-2 S proteins regulate the HIV latent reservoir and to explore whether S proteins regulate the HIV latent reservoir through the mTOR pathway, we constructed an in vitro HIV latent reservoir model for our experiments.To evaluate the potential role of S protein in HIV latent reservoir activation, relevant markers of HIV latent reservoir activation were detected using ELISA, flow cytometry, and RT-qPCR; and the relationship between S protein and mTOR was also detected by WB, CO-IP, and IFC.It was found that S proteins activated the HIV latent reservoir while increasing mTOR expression. It was further observed that mTOR inhibitors significantly inhibited S protein-induced activation of the HIV latent reservoir, and mTOR activators reversed the inhibitory effect of mTOR inhibitors on HIV latent reservoir activation. In summary, we found that S proteins activated the HIV latent reservoir through the mTOR pathway.