TY - JOUR
T1 - Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoadhesin remains effective against Omicron and other emerging variants of concern
AU - Cohen-Dvashi, Hadas
AU - Weinstein, Jonathan
AU - Katz, Michael
AU - Ashkenazy-Eilon, Maayan
AU - Mor, Yuval
AU - Shimon, Amir
AU - Achdout, Hagit
AU - Tamir, Hadas
AU - Israely, Tomer
AU - Strobelt, Romano
AU - Shemesh, Maya
AU - Stoler-Barak, Liat
AU - Shulman, Ziv
AU - Paran, Nir
AU - Fleishman, Sarel Jacob
AU - Diskin, Ron
PY - 2022/10/21
Y1 - 2022/10/21
N2 - Blocking the interaction of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with its angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor was proved to be an effective therapeutic option. Various protein binders as well as monoclonal antibodies that effectively target the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 to prevent interaction with ACE2 were developed. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants that accumulate alterations in the RBD can severely affect the efficacy of such immunotherapeutic agents, as is indeed the case with Omicron that resists many of the previously isolated monoclonal antibodies. Here, we evaluate an ACE2-based immunoadhesin that we have developed early in the pandemic against some of the recent variants of concern (VoCs), including the Delta and the Omicron variants. We show that our ACE2-immunoadhesin remains effective in neutralizing these variants, suggesting that immunoadhesin-based immunotherapy is less prone to escape by the virus and has a potential to remain effective against future VoCs.
AB - Blocking the interaction of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with its angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor was proved to be an effective therapeutic option. Various protein binders as well as monoclonal antibodies that effectively target the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 to prevent interaction with ACE2 were developed. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants that accumulate alterations in the RBD can severely affect the efficacy of such immunotherapeutic agents, as is indeed the case with Omicron that resists many of the previously isolated monoclonal antibodies. Here, we evaluate an ACE2-based immunoadhesin that we have developed early in the pandemic against some of the recent variants of concern (VoCs), including the Delta and the Omicron variants. We show that our ACE2-immunoadhesin remains effective in neutralizing these variants, suggesting that immunoadhesin-based immunotherapy is less prone to escape by the virus and has a potential to remain effective against future VoCs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139722884&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105193
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105193
M3 - Article
SN - 2589-0042
VL - 25
JO - iScience
JF - iScience
IS - 10
M1 - 105193
ER -