# Genetic screens to find critical host factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection

> **NIH NIH R01** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $121,561

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Emerging and re-emerging viruses cause a constant threat to global health. Discovery and characterization of
cellular signaling pathways that regulate pathogenesis and host defense hold promise for revealing new
strategies aimed at enhancing resistance to infection. There are no approved antiviral therapies available for
coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, that cause disease on a large scale, highlighting the need for innovative
approaches to develop more broad-spectrum antivirals. Host-directed therapy (HDT) is an emerging approach
in the field of anti-infectives. The strategy behind HDT is to interfere with host cell factors that are required by a
pathogen for replication. Recent breakthroughs in somatic cell genetics have enabled genome-scale genetic
knockout screens in human cells to identify cellular factors critical to infection and to dissect innate immune
pathways. The pooled genetic knockout approach has several key advantages. First, by using a genome-scale
CRISPR library and using pseudotyped virus for entry and a SARS-CoV-2 replicon for RNA replication and
transcription, only those genes are selected whose knockout confers a strong resistance to virus infection.
Second, because this approach relies on complete knockout of the gene of interest, we select only those genes
that affect infection without being required for cellular viability and growth. In this competitive supplement, we
propose to use these robust and unbiased knockout screening approaches to identify and thoroughly
characterize novel host targets essential for infection by SARS-CoV-2. We expect that these genome-scale
screens will elucidate promising cellular targets that could be used to develop host-directed antiviral therapy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10144890
- **Project number:** 3R01AI140186-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jan E Carette
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $121,561
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10144890

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10144890, Genetic screens to find critical host factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection (3R01AI140186-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10144890. Licensed CC0.

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