Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Engineered Human Tissues Using Clinical-Grade Soluble Human ACE2
Vanessa Monteil, Hyesoo Kwon, Patricia Prado, Astrid Hagelkrüys, Reiner A Wimmer, Martin Stahl, Alexandra Leopoldi, Elena Garreta, Carmen Hurtado Del Pozo, Felipe Prosper, Juan Pablo Romero, Gerald Wirnsberger, Haibo Zhang, Arthur S Slutsky, Ryan Conder, Nuria Montserrat, Ali Mirazimi, Josef M Penninger, Vanessa Monteil, Hyesoo Kwon, Patricia Prado, Astrid Hagelkrüys, Reiner A Wimmer, Martin Stahl, Alexandra Leopoldi, Elena Garreta, Carmen Hurtado Del Pozo, Felipe Prosper, Juan Pablo Romero, Gerald Wirnsberger, Haibo Zhang, Arthur S Slutsky, Ryan Conder, Nuria Montserrat, Ali Mirazimi, Josef M Penninger
Abstract
We have previously provided the first genetic evidence that angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the critical receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and ACE2 protects the lung from injury, providing a molecular explanation for the severe lung failure and death due to SARS-CoV infections. ACE2 has now also been identified as a key receptor for SARS-CoV-2 infections, and it has been proposed that inhibiting this interaction might be used in treating patients with COVID-19. However, it is not known whether human recombinant soluble ACE2 (hrsACE2) blocks growth of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we show that clinical grade hrsACE2 reduced SARS-CoV-2 recovery from Vero cells by a factor of 1,000-5,000. An equivalent mouse rsACE2 had no effect. We also show that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect engineered human blood vessel organoids and human kidney organoids, which can be inhibited by hrsACE2. These data demonstrate that hrsACE2 can significantly block early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Keywords: COVID-19; angiotensin converting enzyme 2; blood vessels; human organoids; kidney; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus; spike glycoproteins; treatment.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of Interests J.M.P. declares a conflict of interest as a founder, supervisory board member, and shareholder of Apeiron Biologics. G.W. is an employee of Apeiron Biologics. Apeiron holds a patent on the use of ACE2 for the treatment of lung, heart, or kidney injury and applied for a patent to treat COVID-19 with hrsACE2 and use organoids to test new drugs for SARS-CoV-2 infections. R.C. and M.S. are employees of STEMCELL Technologies Inc. A.S.S. has been a consultant to Apeiron Biologics. All other authors declare no competing interests.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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