Moreover, we infected A549-H2B-RFP-ACE2 and A549-H2B-mRFP-ACE2 (K788R) with SARS-CoV-2 and detected significantly higher SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid RNA levels at 1 h post-infection in A549-H2B-RFP-ACE2-K788R cells as compared to wt ACE2-expressing cells (Figure 4A). This evidence concerns the gene H2BC21 and infection.