Covalently Engineered Protein Minibinders with Enhanced Neutralization Efficacy against Escaping SARS-CoV-2 Variants

J Am Chem Soc. 2022 Apr 6;144(13):5702-5707. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c11554. Epub 2022 Feb 25.

Abstract

The rapid emergence and spread of escaping mutations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has significantly challenged our efforts in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. A broadly neutralizing reagent against these concerning variants is thus highly desirable for the prophylactic and therapeutic treatments of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We herein report a covalent engineering strategy on protein minibinders for potent neutralization of the escaping variants such as B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.617.1 (Kappa), and B.1.1.529 (Omicron) through in situ cross-linking with the spike receptor binding domain (RBD). The resulting covalent minibinder (GlueBinder) exhibited enhanced blockage of RBD-human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (huACE2) interaction and more potent neutralization effect against the Delta variant than its noncovalent counterpart as demonstrated on authentic virus. By leveraging the covalent chemistry against escaping mutations, our strategy may be generally applicable for restoring and enhancing the potency of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and other rapidly evolving viral targets.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • COVID-19 Drug Treatment*
  • Humans
  • Neutralization Tests
  • Pandemics
  • Protein Binding
  • SARS-CoV-2* / genetics
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / genetics

Substances

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
  • spike protein, SARS-CoV-2

Supplementary concepts

  • SARS-CoV-2 variants