Protective Efficacy of Novel Engineered Human ACE2-Fc Fusion Protein Against Pan-SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Vitro and in Vivo

J Med Chem. 2023 Dec 28;66(24):16646-16657. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01201. Epub 2023 Dec 15.

Abstract

Enduring occurrence of severe COVID-19 for unvaccinated, aged, or immunocompromised individuals remains an urgent need. Soluble human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been used as a decoy receptor to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is limited by moderate affinity. We describe an engineered, high-affinity ACE2 that is consistently effective in tissue cultures in neutralizing all strains tested, including Delta and Omicron. We also found that treatment of AC70 hACE2 transgenic mice with hACE2-Fc receptor decoys effectively reduced viral infection, attenuated tissue histopathology, and delayed the onset of morbidity and mortality caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. We believe that using this ACE2-Fc protein would be less likely to promote the escape mutants of SARS-CoV-2 as frequently as did those neutralizing antibody therapies. Together, our results emphasize the suitability of our newly engineered hACE2-Fc fusion protein for further development as a potent antiviral agent against Pan-SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Neutralizing / pharmacology
  • Antibodies, Neutralizing / therapeutic use
  • Antiviral Agents / pharmacology
  • COVID-19*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • SARS-CoV-2

Substances

  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antiviral Agents