A drug treatment that acts as a decoy against SARS-CoV-2 was highly effective at preventing death and lung damage in humanized animal models of severe COVID-19 disease. The study suggests that the drug has the potential to treat COVID-19 patients, including those who are infected with aggressive SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The study’s senior lead author is Asrar Malik, professor in the department of pharmacology and regenerative medicine at the UIC College of Medicine. Jalees Rehman, professor in the department of pharmacology and regenerative medicine and the department of medicine, is a co-lead author of the study, «Engineered ACE2 decoy mitigates lung injury and death induced by SARS-CoV-2 variants.»

«While vaccines remain the best option for preventing infections, long-term complications and death from COVID-19, there is an urgent need for the development of effective treatments for vulnerable patients, especially as new variants continue to arise,» Rehman said.

«Vulnerable individuals who are at risk of developing severe COVID-19 include those who are unvaccinated or immunocompromised and therefore their immune system cannot protect them as well even after receiving vaccinations and boosters,» he said. «In addition, new variants of SARS-CoV-2, such as the most recent omicron variant, may partially evade the immune system and can cause breakthrough infections. For all the vulnerable patients, we need to create an array of treatments so that health care providers can choose the most appropriate drug or combination of drugs, depending on the individual patient’s disease stage and severity.»

The drug treatment, developed through a partnership between UIC and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, consists of an artificially engineered ACE2 protein designed with unprecedently high binding capacity for the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which binds to natural ACE2 protein receptors located on human cells and causes COVID-19. The drug works by competing for the spike protein and soaking up viruses before they can bind and enter cells.

In animal studies of severe COVID-19, the researchers used mouse models designed to carry the human ACE2 protein. With multiple treatment regimens, infected mice were given the drug intravenously. The researchers found that mice receiving the treatment showed markedly reduced death and no significant evidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome, the hallmark of the disease and primary cause of death. The mice receiving the drug also regained appetite and weight, which are signs of recovery.

Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Illinois Chicago. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.