Scientists have adopted a commonly used cancer therapeutic technique, CAR-T cell therapy, to eliminate the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a study.
The team of scientists from the non-profit Biomedical Research Institute, The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, led by Daria Anutmaz, demonstrated several immuno-based strategies to explore the treatment and prevention of COVID-19.
The first immunotherapy method in the study, published in Clinical and Translational Immunology, focused on the spike protein present in SARS-CoV-2 and the receptor on the host cell, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).
The spike protein is the molecule present on the surface of the virus that is responsible for infecting healthy host cells. The protein enters the cell via the ACE2 receptor, allowing the viral RNA to initiate its acquisition.
In the Unutmaz study, T cells were engineered with anti-Spike and anti-ACE2 CAR-T cells to target the Spike protein or the ACE2 receptor with high specificity and efficiency in various infected cell types.
Second immunotherapy method provides an antibody-based means of prevention covid-19 infection, The T cells were engineered with a specific antibody fused to ACE2 to activate the patient’s own T cells to destroy infected cells that present the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein on their surface.
Instead of modifying cells outside the body to kill infected cells, ACE2-bispecific therapy activates healthy T cells within the individual to target spike cells after infection.
Unlike most current therapeutics, ACE2-specific modified cells take advantage of the ACE2 receptor to target different presentations of the spike proteins in all SARS-CoV-2 variants, including delta, omicron, and more.
Therefore, ACE2-specific therapy may provide more efficient eradication of variants with more potent ACE2 binding. The study states that it may also act as a decoy to block viral entry into cells, offering a potential preventive strategy.
According to the study, the proposed COVID-19 CAR-T cell and ACE2-bispecific-based therapies offer promising potential strategies for future COVID-19 treatment and prevention.
The text of this story is published from a wire agency feed without any modification.
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