Weizmann Institute of Science: New weapon in the war on animal-borne viruses
New weapon in the war on animal-borne viruses
Engineered molecule could lead to treatments for viruses that cross over from animals to humans
DATE: FEBRUARY 2, 2020
As the new coronavirus pandemic
spreads, a new study from the Weizmann Institute of Science may help offer an
innovative solution to similar cases of animal viruses that infect humans.
Another group of viruses that originate in rodents and sometimes
cross over to humans—called arenaviruses—often lead to severe illness including
hemorrhagic fevers and meningitis. Weizmann scientists recently devised a decoy
for these viruses that may treat infected people and inhibit viruses from
infecting humans.
The finding, from the lab of Dr. Ron Diskin in the Department of
Structural Biology and led by staff scientist Dr. Hadas Cohen-Dvashi, was
published in Nature Communications.
The study focused on a group of viruses
within a class of arenaviruses called New World arenaviruses, which originate
in South America and North America: Junín, Machupo, Sabiá, and Guanarito. All
pathogenic so-called New World arenaviruses make their way into humans via a
receptor on the membrane of cells (called the “transferrin receptor 1” or TfR1).
To date, research attempts to target viruses like HIV-1 using decoys that mimic
the cellular receptor to lure away the virus have used the human version of
these receptors, and generally were unsuccessful.
The Diskin lab first found that human cell receptors were not a
perfect match for the rodent-borne viruses—which meant that all attempts to
mimic the human receptors would never lead to a perfect decoy. So they
engineered a molecule that instead uses decoy receptors based on rodent
cells—which bind perfectly to the virus. The scientists then engineered that
new decoy into an antibody-like molecule, and called it “Arenacept”.
Battle heroes
The good news doesn’t end there. It turns out that not only does
Arenacept bind strongly to arenaviruses—it also recruits the immune system to
mount an attack against the viral invasion. Think defense and counter-attack.
Moreover, Arenacept is based on the entry point shared by all
viruses in a given family—targeting TfR1—rather than on individual
characteristics of individual viruses (as is the case of many existing
vaccines). Therefore, Dr. Diskin says there is a fair chance that the new
molecule will be effective against other arenaviruses that utilize TfR1.
And he expects that it would be safe—although that’s something
only clinical trials could determine with certainty. “All signs suggest
Arenacept is non-toxic, and that it is also heat-resistant and stable, meaning
it would simplify the logistics of delivering it to remote areas of the world
where these diseases are endemic,” he says. “And the idea of creating decoys
from animal-host receptors might be applied to other viruses that cross to
humans from animals.”
The Diskin lab has received a patent for Arenacept and is working
with Yeda, the Weizmann Institute’s tech transfer arm, to further develop and
commercialize the molecule for clinical use.
Dr. Ron Diskin's research is supported by the Moross Integrated
Cancer Center; the Dr. Barry Sherman Institute for Medicinal Chemistry; the
Jeanne and Joseph Nissim Center for Life Sciences Research; and the estate of
Emile Mimran.
Comments
Post a Comment