Biomimetic SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Nanoparticles.

ABSTRACT: COVID-19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This virus contains a crucial coat protein that engages with target cells via a receptor binding domain (RBD) on its spike protein. To better study the RBD and its therapeutic opportunities, we genetically engineered a simple fusion with a thermo-responsive elastin-like polypeptide (ELP). These fusions express in Escherichia coli at a high yield in the soluble fraction and were easily purified using ELP-mediated phase separation (79 mg/L culture). Interestingly, they assembled peptide-based nanoparticles (R_h = 71.4 nm), which was attributed to oligomerization of RBDs (25.3 kDa) counterbalanced by steric stabilization by a soluble ELP (73.

SUBMITTER: Phan A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10084924 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature