Snake venom phospholipase A(2)s exhibit strong virucidal activity against SARS-CoV-2 and inhibit the viral spike glycoprotein interaction with ACE2

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 requires new treatments both to alleviate the symptoms and to prevent the spread of this disease. Previous studies demonstrated good antiviral and virucidal activity of phospholipase A(2)s (PLA(2)s) from snake venoms against viruses from different families but there was no data for coronaviruses. Here we show that PLA(2)s from snake venoms protect Vero E6 cells against SARS-CoV-2 cytopathic effects. PLA(2)s showed low cytotoxicity to Vero E6 cells with some activity at micromolar concentrations, but strong antiviral activity at nanomolar concentrations. Dimeric PLA(2) from the viper Vipera nikolskii and its subunits manifested especially potent virucidal effects, which were related to their phospholipolytic activity, and inhibited cell–cell fusion mediated by the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. Moreover, PLA(2)s interfered with binding both of an antibody against ACE2 and of the receptor-binding domain of the glycoprotein S to 293T/ACE2 cells. This is the first demonstration of a detrimental effect of PLA(2)s on β-coronaviruses. Thus, snake PLA(2)s are promising for the development of antiviral drugs that target the viral envelope, and could also prove to be useful tools to study the interaction of viruses with host cells. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00018-021-03985-6.