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Mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 neutralization by shark variable new antigen receptors elucidated through X-ray crystallography. Nat Commun 2021 Dec 16;12(1):7325

Date

12/18/2021

Pubmed ID

34916516

Pubmed Central ID

PMC8677774

DOI

10.1038/s41467-021-27611-y

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85121420979 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   23 Citations

Abstract

Single-domain Variable New Antigen Receptors (VNARs) from the immune system of sharks are the smallest naturally occurring binding domains found in nature. Possessing flexible paratopes that can recognize protein motifs inaccessible to classical antibodies, VNARs have yet to be exploited for the development of SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics. Here, we detail the identification of a series of VNARs from a VNAR phage display library screened against the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD). The ability of the VNARs to neutralize pseudotype and authentic live SARS-CoV-2 virus rivalled or exceeded that of full-length immunoglobulins and other single-domain antibodies. Crystallographic analysis of two VNARs found that they recognized separate epitopes on the RBD and had distinctly different mechanisms of virus neutralization unique to VNARs. Structural and biochemical data suggest that VNARs would be effective therapeutic agents against emerging SARS-CoV-2 mutants, including the Delta variant, and coronaviruses across multiple phylogenetic lineages. This study highlights the utility of VNARs as effective therapeutics against coronaviruses and may serve as a critical milestone for nearing a paradigm shift of the greater biologic landscape.

Author List

Ubah OC, Lake EW, Gunaratne GS, Gallant JP, Fernie M, Robertson AJ, Marchant JS, Bold TD, Langlois RA, Matchett WE, Thiede JM, Shi K, Yin L, Moeller NH, Banerjee S, Ferguson L, Kovaleva M, Porter AJ, Aihara H, LeBeau AM, Barelle CJ

Author

Jonathan S. Marchant PhD Chair, Professor in the Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy department at Medical College of Wisconsin




MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
Antibodies, Neutralizing
Antibodies, Viral
Crystallography, X-Ray
Epitopes
Mutation
Phylogeny
Protein Binding
Receptors, Antigen
Sequence Alignment
Sharks
Single-Domain Antibodies
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus