Open AccessA serum-stable RNA aptamer specific for SARS-CoV-2 neutralizes viral entry
Author(s) -
Julián Valero,
Laia Civit,
Daniel M. Dupont,
Denis Selnihhin,
Line S. Reinert,
Manja Idorn,
Brett Israels,
Aleksandra Bednarz,
Claus Bus,
Benedikt Asbach,
David Peterhoff,
Finn Skou Pedersen,
Victoria Birkedal,
Ralf Wagner,
Søren R. Paludan,
Jørgen Kjems
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2112942118
Subject(s) - aptamer , rna , coronavirus , viral entry , virology , covid-19 , in vitro , plasma protein binding , biology , receptor , binding site , chemistry , virus , biophysics , microbiology and biotechnology , viral replication , biochemistry , gene , medicine , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Significance Developing molecules capable of binding to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and inhibiting viral infection is of utmost importance for the detection and therapy of COVID-19. We have developed and engineered a serum-stable RNA aptamer specific for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. We further show that scaffolding three aptamers together increases the binding efficiency to the low picomolar range and enables very efficient neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cells. The aptamer also shows high affinity for spike protein from variants of concern. Due to its small size and chemical stability, our aptamer holds potential as an alternative to antibodies and nanobodies targeting spike protein.