Supramolecular filaments for concurrent ACE2 docking and enzymatic activity silencing enable coronavirus capture and infection prevention

Caleb F. Anderson, Qiong Wang, David Stern, Elissa K. Leonard, Boran Sun, Kyle J. Fergie, Chang yong Choi, Jamie B. Spangler, Jason Villano, Andrew Pekosz, Cory F. Brayton, Hongpeng Jia, Honggang Cui

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Coronaviruses have historically precipitated global pandemics of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) into devastating public health crises. Despite the virus's rapid rate of mutation, all SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants are known to gain entry into host cells primarily through complexation with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Although ACE2 has potential as a druggable decoy to block viral entry, its clinical use is complicated by its essential biological role as a carboxypeptidase and hindered by its structural and chemical instability. Here we designed supramolecular filaments, called fACE2, that can silence ACE2's enzymatic activity and immobilize ACE2 to their surface through enzyme-substrate complexation. This docking strategy enables ACE2 to be effectively delivered in inhalable aerosols and improves its structural stability and functional preservation. fACE2 exhibits enhanced and prolonged inhibition of viral entry compared with ACE2 alone while mitigating lung injury in vivo.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)583-604
Number of pages22
JournalMatter
Volume6
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2023

Keywords

  • ACE2
  • MAP4: Demonstrate
  • biomaterials
  • coronavirus
  • drug delivery
  • peptide amphiphiles
  • protein therapeutics
  • supramolecular filaments

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science

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