SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant binding affinity to an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 fusion glycoproteins

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, continues to evolve and circulate globally. Current prophylactic and therapeutic countermeasures against Covid-19 infection include vaccines, small molecule drugs, a...

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Main Authors: Alicia M. Matthews, Thomas G. Biel, Uriel Ortega-Rodriguez, Vincent M. Falkowski, Xin Bush, Talia Faison, Hang Xie, Cyrus Agarabi, V. Ashutosh Rao, Tongzhong Ju
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9725131/?tool=EBI
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author Alicia M. Matthews
Thomas G. Biel
Uriel Ortega-Rodriguez
Vincent M. Falkowski
Xin Bush
Talia Faison
Hang Xie
Cyrus Agarabi
V. Ashutosh Rao
Tongzhong Ju
author_facet Alicia M. Matthews
Thomas G. Biel
Uriel Ortega-Rodriguez
Vincent M. Falkowski
Xin Bush
Talia Faison
Hang Xie
Cyrus Agarabi
V. Ashutosh Rao
Tongzhong Ju
author_sort Alicia M. Matthews
collection DOAJ
description Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, continues to evolve and circulate globally. Current prophylactic and therapeutic countermeasures against Covid-19 infection include vaccines, small molecule drugs, and neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. SARS-CoV-2 infection is mainly mediated by the viral spike glycoprotein binding to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on host cells for viral entry. As emerging mutations in the spike protein evade efficacy of spike-targeted countermeasures, a potential strategy to counter SARS-CoV-2 infection is to competitively block the spike protein from binding to the host ACE2 using a soluble recombinant fusion protein that contains a human ACE2 and an IgG1-Fc domain (ACE2-Fc). Here, we have established Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell lines that stably express ACE2-Fc proteins in which the ACE2 domain either has or has no catalytic activity. The fusion proteins were produced and purified to partially characterize physicochemical properties and spike protein binding. Our results demonstrate the ACE2-Fc fusion proteins are heavily N-glycosylated, sensitive to thermal stress, and actively bind to five spike protein variants (parental, alpha, beta, delta, and omicron) with different affinity. Our data demonstrates a proof-of-concept production strategy for ACE2-Fc fusion glycoproteins that can bind to different spike protein variants to support the manufacture of potential alternative countermeasures for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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spelling doaj.art-30fc4c3b5f2247c38dddb9b96f9544ef2022-12-22T03:54:56ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011712SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant binding affinity to an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 fusion glycoproteinsAlicia M. MatthewsThomas G. BielUriel Ortega-RodriguezVincent M. FalkowskiXin BushTalia FaisonHang XieCyrus AgarabiV. Ashutosh RaoTongzhong JuSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, continues to evolve and circulate globally. Current prophylactic and therapeutic countermeasures against Covid-19 infection include vaccines, small molecule drugs, and neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. SARS-CoV-2 infection is mainly mediated by the viral spike glycoprotein binding to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on host cells for viral entry. As emerging mutations in the spike protein evade efficacy of spike-targeted countermeasures, a potential strategy to counter SARS-CoV-2 infection is to competitively block the spike protein from binding to the host ACE2 using a soluble recombinant fusion protein that contains a human ACE2 and an IgG1-Fc domain (ACE2-Fc). Here, we have established Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell lines that stably express ACE2-Fc proteins in which the ACE2 domain either has or has no catalytic activity. The fusion proteins were produced and purified to partially characterize physicochemical properties and spike protein binding. Our results demonstrate the ACE2-Fc fusion proteins are heavily N-glycosylated, sensitive to thermal stress, and actively bind to five spike protein variants (parental, alpha, beta, delta, and omicron) with different affinity. Our data demonstrates a proof-of-concept production strategy for ACE2-Fc fusion glycoproteins that can bind to different spike protein variants to support the manufacture of potential alternative countermeasures for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9725131/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Alicia M. Matthews
Thomas G. Biel
Uriel Ortega-Rodriguez
Vincent M. Falkowski
Xin Bush
Talia Faison
Hang Xie
Cyrus Agarabi
V. Ashutosh Rao
Tongzhong Ju
SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant binding affinity to an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 fusion glycoproteins
PLoS ONE
title SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant binding affinity to an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 fusion glycoproteins
title_full SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant binding affinity to an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 fusion glycoproteins
title_fullStr SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant binding affinity to an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 fusion glycoproteins
title_full_unstemmed SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant binding affinity to an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 fusion glycoproteins
title_short SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant binding affinity to an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 fusion glycoproteins
title_sort sars cov 2 spike protein variant binding affinity to an angiotensin converting enzyme 2 fusion glycoproteins
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9725131/?tool=EBI
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