Prophylaxis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection by an ACE2 receptor decoy in a preclinical animal model

Takuya Tada; Belinda M Dcosta; Hao Zhou; Nathaniel R Landau

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106092

Prophylaxis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection by an ACE2 receptor decoy in a preclinical animal model

iScience. 2023 Feb 17;26(2):106092. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106092. Epub 2023 Jan 31.

Authors

Takuya Tada¹, Belinda M Dcosta¹, Hao Zhou¹, Nathaniel R Landau¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Microbiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 430 East 29th Street, Alexandria West Building, Rm 509, New York, NY 10016, USA.

Abstract

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with highly mutated spike proteins has presented an obstacle to the use of monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We show that a high-affinity receptor decoy protein in which a modified ACE2 ectodomain is fused to a single domain of an immunoglobulin heavy chain Fc region dramatically suppressed virus loads in mice upon challenge with a high dose of parental SARS-CoV-2 or Omicron variants. The decoy also potently suppressed virus replication when administered shortly post-infection. The decoy approach offers protection against the current viral variants and, potentially, against SARS-CoV-2 variants that may emerge with the continued evolution of the spike protein or novel viruses that use ACE2 for virus entry.

Keywords: Drugs; Virology.

Abstract

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