The following study was conducted by Scientists from Department of Biophysics, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Team SMMU-China of the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, Department of Biophysics, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Pharchoice Therapeutics, Inc, Shanghai, China. Study is published in Nature Communications Journal as detailed below.
Nature Communications; Volume 11, Article Number: 2070; (2020)
Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Pseudotyped Virus by Recombinant ACE2-Ig
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019, and there are currently no specific antiviral treatments or vaccines available. SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to use the same cell entry receptor as SARS-CoV, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). In this report, we generate a recombinant protein by connecting the extracellular domain of human ACE2 to the Fc region of the human immunoglobulin IgG1. A fusion protein containing an ACE2 mutant with low catalytic activity is also used in this study. The fusion proteins are then characterized. Both fusion proteins have a high binding affinity for the receptor-binding domains of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 and exhibit desirable pharmacological properties in mice. Moreover, the fusion proteins neutralize virus pseudotyped with SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins in vitro. As these fusion proteins exhibit cross-reactivity against coronaviruses, they have potential applications in the diagnosis, prophylaxis, and treatment of SARS-CoV-2.
Source:
Nature Communications
URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16048-4
Citation:
Lei, C., K. Qian, et al. (2020). “Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped virus by recombinant ACE2-Ig.” Nature Communications 11(1): 2070.
