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Linsky TW, Vergara R, Codina N, Nelson JW, Walker MJ, Su W, Barnes CO, Hsiang TY, Esser-Nobis K, Yu K, Reneer ZB, Hou YJ, Priya T, Mitsumoto M, Pong A, Lau UY, Mason ML, Chen J, Chen A, Berrocal T, Peng H, Clairmont NS, Castellanos J, Lin YR, Josephson-Day A, Baric RS, Fuller DH, Walkey CD, Ross TM, Swanson R, Bjorkman PJ, Gale M, Blancas-Mejia LM, Yen HL, Silva DA. De novo design of potent and resilient hACE2 decoys to neutralize SARS-CoV-2. Science 2020; 370:1208-1214. [PMID: 33154107 PMCID: PMC7920261 DOI: 10.1126/science.abe0075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
We developed a de novo protein design strategy to swiftly engineer decoys for neutralizing pathogens that exploit extracellular host proteins to infect the cell. Our pipeline allowed the design, validation, and optimization of de novo human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) decoys to neutralize severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The best monovalent decoy, CTC-445.2, bound with low nanomolar affinity and high specificity to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein. Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) showed that the design is accurate and can simultaneously bind to all three RBDs of a single spike protein. Because the decoy replicates the spike protein target interface in hACE2, it is intrinsically resilient to viral mutational escape. A bivalent decoy, CTC-445.2d, showed ~10-fold improvement in binding. CTC-445.2d potently neutralized SARS-CoV-2 infection of cells in vitro, and a single intranasal prophylactic dose of decoy protected Syrian hamsters from a subsequent lethal SARS-CoV-2 challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Wen Su
- School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Christopher O Barnes
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Tien-Ying Hsiang
- Center for Innate Immunity and Immune Disease, Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Katharina Esser-Nobis
- Center for Innate Immunity and Immune Disease, Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kevin Yu
- Neoleukin Therapeutics Inc., Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Z Beau Reneer
- Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Yixuan J Hou
- Center for Innate Immunity and Immune Disease, Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Tanu Priya
- Neoleukin Therapeutics Inc., Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Avery Pong
- Neoleukin Therapeutics Inc., Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Uland Y Lau
- Neoleukin Therapeutics Inc., Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Jerry Chen
- Neoleukin Therapeutics Inc., Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Alex Chen
- Neoleukin Therapeutics Inc., Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Hong Peng
- Neoleukin Therapeutics Inc., Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Yu-Ru Lin
- Neoleukin Therapeutics Inc., Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Ralph S Baric
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Deborah H Fuller
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Ted M Ross
- Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | | | - Pamela J Bjorkman
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Michael Gale
- Center for Innate Immunity and Immune Disease, Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Hui-Ling Yen
- School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
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