Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Pseudotyped Virus Infection Using ACE2-Tethered Gold Nanorods under Near-Infrared Laser Irradiation
- Ian Peng
Ian PengDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho83844, United StatesMore by Ian Peng
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- Sharjeel Jokhio
Sharjeel JokhioDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho83844, United StatesMore by Sharjeel Jokhio
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- Soha Alkhaldi
Soha AlkhaldiDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho83844, United StatesMore by Soha Alkhaldi
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- Ching-An Peng*
Ching-An Peng*Corresponding address: Ching-An Peng Engineering Physics Building 410 875 Perimeter Drive Moscow, ID 83844-0904 Phone: 208-885-7461 E-mail: [email protected]Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho83844, United StatesMore by Ching-An Peng
Abstract
Since the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein is abundant on the surface of respiratory cells in the lungs, it has been confirmed to be the entry-point receptor for the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. As such, gold nanorods (AuNRs) functionalized with ACE2 ectodomain (ACE2ED) act not only as decoys for these viruses to keep them from binding with the ACE2-expressing cells but also as agents to ablate infectious virions through heat generated from AuNRs under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. Using plasmid containing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein gene (with a D614G mutation), spike protein pseudotyped viral particles with a lentiviral core and green fluorescent protein reporter were constructed and used for transfecting ACE2-expressing HEK293T cells. Since these viral particles behave like their coronavirus counterparts, they are the ideal surrogates of native virions for studying viral entry into host cells. Our results showed that, once the surrogate pseudoviruses with spike protein encounter ACE2ED-tethered AuNRs, these virions are entrapped, resulting in decreased viral infection to ACE2-expressing HEK293T cells. Moreover, the effect of photothermolysis created by ACE2ED-tagged AuNRs under 808-nm NIR laser irradiation for 5 min led to viral breakdown. In summary, ACE2ED-tethered AuNRs with dual functions (virus decoy and destruction) could have an intriguing advantage in the treatment of diseases involving rapidly mutating viral species such as SARS-CoV-2.
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