Newly-Synthesized Peptide Could Disarm SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus

Sci-news ^ | 2020 March 31 | News staff

[CutePuppy]

Chemists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have chemically synthesized a new peptide (a short protein fragment) that can bind to part of SARS-CoV-2's spike protein, a key protein responsible for getting the virus into mammalian cells, potentially disarming it.

"We have a lead compound that we really want to explore, because it does, in fact, interact with a viral protein in the way that we predicted it to interact, so it has a chance of inhibiting viral entry into a host cell," said senior author Dr. Brad Pentelute, a researcher in the Department of Chemistry at MIT.

Coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, have many protein spikes protruding from their viral envelope.

A specific region of SARS-CoV-2's spike protein, known as the receptor binding domain, binds to a receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). This receptor is found on the surface of many human cells, including those in the lungs.

In hopes of developing drugs that could block viral entry, Dr. Pentelute and colleagues performed computational simulations of the interactions between the ACE2 receptor and the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2's spike protein. ..... < snip >

..... "This kind of simulation can give us views of how atoms and biomolecules interact with each other, and which parts are essential for this interaction," said first author Dr. Genwei Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry at MIT. ..... < snip >

The scientists then used peptide synthesis technology to rapidly generate a 23-amino acid peptide with the same sequence as the alpha helix of the ACE2 receptor. ..... < snip >

They found that the longer peptide showed strong binding to the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2. ..... < snip >

[TChad]

(also a coronavirus)

Mostly rhinovirus, only about 1/5 coronavirus.

https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/common_cold_causes

[grey_whiskers]

https://harvardtothebighouse.com/2020/01/31/logistical-and-technical-analysis-of-the-origins-of-the-wuhan-coronavirus-2019-ncov/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

F'ing *Yikes*.

[Crucial]

All this medical lingo and acronyms gives me a headache. It sounds promising.

[WildHighlander57]

grey_whiskers wrote:

“
https://harvardtothebighouse.com/2020/01/31/logistical-and-technical-analysis-of-the-origins-of-the-wuhan-coronavirus-2019-ncov/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

F’ing *Yikes*.”

Article says one of the authors is a

“former NSA counterterrorism analyst”.

[CutePuppy]

From Experimental Drug Blocks Growth of SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus in Cell Cultures and Organoids - Sci-News, by News Staff, 2020 April 03

A trial drug called APN01 or human recombinant soluble ACE2 (hrsACE2) can significantly block early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infections, according to a paper published in the journal Cell.


In cell cultures analyzed in the study, APN01 inhibited the coronavirus load by a factor of 1,000-5,000. Image credit: Tibor Kulcsar / IMBA

ACE2, a protein on the surface of the cell membrane, is the key receptor for the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2.

In earlier work, Professor Penninger and colleagues identified ACE2 and found that in living organisms, ACE2 is the key receptor for SARS, the viral respiratory illness recognized as a global threat in 2003.

While the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread around the globe, the absence of a clinically proven antiviral therapy or a treatment specifically targeting the critical SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 on a molecular level has meant an empty arsenal for health care providers struggling to treat severe cases of COVID-19.

"Our new study provides very much needed direct evidence that APN01 soon to be tested in clinical trials by the European biotech company Apeiron Biologics, is useful as an antiviral therapy for COVID-19," said Professor Arthur Slutsky, from the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science of St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto.

In cell cultures analyzed in the current study, APN01 inhibited the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus load by a factor of 1,000-5,000. ..... < snip >

..... researchers demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect and duplicate itself in these tissues. ..... severe cases of COVID-19 present with multi-organ failure and evidence of cardiovascular damage. Clinical grade APN01 also reduced the SARS-CoV-2 infection in these engineered human tissues. ..... < snip >

"Now we know that a soluble form of ACE2 that catches the virus away, could be indeed a very rational therapy that specifically targets the gate the virus must take to infect us." ..... < snip >

Apeiron Biologics' APN01 is one of the recombinant form of the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 - rhACE2. Since ACE2 is a gateway for CoV, seems like potentially effective forms of treatment and/or preventative for any form of coronavirus, including future mutations, made in lab or in the wild. Have to watch for potential side-effects, of course - clinical trials are ongoing now.