Dataset Information

Protoporphyrin IX and verteporfin potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro and in a mouse model expressing human ACE2.

ABSTRACT: The SARS-CoV-2 infection is spreading rapidly worldwide. Efficacious antiviral therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2 is urgently needed. Here, we discovered that protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) and verteporfin, two Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs, completely inhibited the cytopathic effect produced by SARS-CoV-2 infection at 1.25 μmol/L and 0.31 μmol/L, respectively, and their EC50 values of reduction of viral RNA were at nanomolar concentrations. The selectivity indices of PpIX and verteporfin were 952.74 and 368.93, respectively, suggesting a broad margin of safety. Importantly, PpIX and verteporfin prevented SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice adenovirally transduced with human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The compounds, sharing a porphyrin ring structure, were shown to bind viral receptor ACE2 and interfere with the interaction between ACE2 and the receptor-binding domain of viral S protein. Our study suggests that PpIX and verteporfin are potent antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2 infection and sheds new light on developing novel chemoprophylaxis and chemotherapy against SARS-CoV-2.

SUBMITTER: Gu C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7724564 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Protoporphyrin IX and verteporfin potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection <i>in vitro</i> and in a mouse model expressing human ACE2.

Gu Chenjian C Wu Yang Y Guo Huimin H Zhu Yuanfei Y Xu Wei W Wang Yuyan Y Zhou Yu Y Sun Zhiping Z Cai Xia X Li Yutang Y Liu Jing J Huang Zhong Z Yuan Zhenghong Z Zhang Rong R Deng Qiang Q Qu Di D Xie Youhua Y

Science bulletin 20201209 9

The SARS-CoV-2 infection is spreading rapidly worldwide. Efficacious antiviral therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2 is urgently needed. Here, we discovered that protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) and verteporfin, two Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs, completely inhibited the cytopathic effect produced by SARS-CoV-2 infection at 1.25 μmol/L and 0.31 μmol/L, respectively, and their EC50 values of reduction of viral RNA were at nanomolar concentrations. The selectivity indices of PpIX and vertepo ...[more]

PMID: 33318880

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Project description:The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused >20 million infections and >750,000 deaths. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of COVID-19, has been found closely related to the bat coronavirus strain RaTG13 (Bat-CoV RaTG13) and a recently identified pangolin coronavirus (Pangolin-CoV-2020). Here, we first investigated the ability of SARS-CoV-2 and three related coronaviruses to utilize animal orthologs of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for cell entry. We found that ACE2 orthologs of a wide range of domestic and wild mammals, including camels, cattle, horses, goats, sheep, cats, rabbits, and pangolins, were able to support cell entry of SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that these species might be able to harbor and spread this virus. In addition, the pangolin and bat coronaviruses, Pangolin-CoV-2020 and Bat-CoV RaTG13, were also found able to utilize human ACE2 and a number of animal-ACE2 orthologs for cell entry, indicating risks of spillover of these viruses into humans in the future. We then developed potently anticoronavirus ACE2-Ig proteins that are broadly effective against the four distinct coronaviruses. In particular, through truncating ACE2 at its residue 740 but not 615, introducing a D30E mutation, and adopting an antibody-like tetrameric-ACE2 configuration, we generated an ACE2-Ig variant that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 at picomolar range. These data demonstrate that the improved ACE2-Ig variants developed in this study could potentially be developed to protect from SARS-CoV-2 and some other SARS-like viruses that might spillover into humans in the future.IMPORTANCE The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of the currently uncontrolled coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It is important to study the host range of SARS-CoV-2, because some domestic species might harbor the virus and transmit it back to humans. In addition, insight into the ability of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-like viruses to utilize animal orthologs of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 might provide structural insight into improving ACE2-based viral entry inhibitors. In this study, we found that ACE2 orthologs of a wide range of domestic and wild animals can support cell entry of SARS-CoV-2 and three related coronaviruses, providing insights into identifying animal hosts of these viruses. We also developed recombinant ACE2-Ig proteins that are able to potently block these viral infections, providing a promising approach to developing antiviral proteins broadly effective against these distinct coronaviruses.

Dataset Information

Protoporphyrin IX and verteporfin potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro and in a mouse model expressing human ACE2.

Publications

Protoporphyrin IX and verteporfin potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection <i>in vitro</i> and in a mouse model expressing human ACE2.

Similar Datasets

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