1区 · 综合性期刊
ArticleOA
作者: Li, Guangyu ; Hao, Dongxia ; Yao, Yuansheng ; Liu, Juan ; Liu, Zibing ; Choe, Hyeryun ; Huang, Baoying ; Tian, Xinxin ; Lin, Yongqing ; Chen, Pan ; Liu, Ximing ; Yuen, Kwok-Yung ; Liu, Chunmei ; Yang, Fang ; Peng, Xiaozhong ; Mao, Fengfeng ; Qi, Yonghe ; Peng, Ran ; Sheng, Yao ; Farzan, Michael ; Liu, Haimo ; Tan, Wenjie ; Lu, Shuaiyao ; Jin, Ronghua ; Huang, Panpan ; Li, Xue ; Song, Rui ; Zheng, Yule ; Yu, Guimei ; Sun, Yinyan ; Fang, Linqiang ; Sa, Rigai ; Li, Wenhui ; Sui, Jianhua ; Luo, Junmian ; Ding, Yu ; Chen, Jianhe ; Yeung, Man Lung ; Cheng, Yurui
AbstractMany of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics are not effective against newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 variants. Here, we developed the metallo-enzyme domain of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)—the cellular receptor of SARS-CoV-2—into an IgM-like inhalable molecule (HH-120). HH-120 binds to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein with high avidity and confers potent and broad-spectrum neutralization activity against all known SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. HH-120 was developed as an inhaled formulation that achieves appropriate aerodynamic properties for rodent and monkey respiratory system delivery, and we found that early administration of HH-120 by aerosol inhalation significantly reduced viral loads and lung pathology scores in male golden Syrian hamsters infected by the SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain (GDPCC-nCoV27) and the Delta variant. Our study presents a meaningful advancement in the inhalation delivery of large biologics like HH-120 (molecular weight (MW) ~ 1000 kDa) and demonstrates that HH-120 can serve as an efficacious, safe, and convenient agent against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Finally, given the known role of ACE2 in viral reception, it is conceivable that HH-120 has the potential to be efficacious against additional emergent coronaviruses.