De Novo Designed Peptide to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Interaction with ACE2 Receptor on Host Cells

Author(s): Irena Cosic, Urska Kuhar, Uros Krapez, Brigita Slavec, Drasko Cosic, Ivan Loncarevic

COVID-19 pandemic, which has made havoc in the World, is caused by single stranded RNA virus SARS-C0V-2. This virus attacks cells by interacting with Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on the surface of host cells. Using the Resonant Recognition Model (RRM), we have designed six de novo peptides which are proposed to prevent this interaction. Peptide preselection has been by standard Inhibitor Screening Assay Kits and one of the designed peptides (CovA) has been proposed to be a good candidate for testing on cell lines. Using Vero E6 cell line, peptide CovA has shown ability to significantly prevent interaction between SARS-CoV-2 virus and ACE2 receptor. Thus, the designed peptide CovA could provide the basis for development of new COVID-19 drugs. In addition, these results are supporting the RRM model ability to design peptides with desired biological function.

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