A potential hypothesis for 2019-nCoV infection therapy through delivery of recombinant ACE2 by red blood cell-hitchhiking

Mehdi Banitalebi-Dehkordi,Seyed Abbas Mirzaei,Zahra Sadat Aghili

doi:10.1186/s40709-020-00129-y

Abstract

A novel infectious disease, caused by 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is responsible for the recent outbreak of severe respiratory disease. The 2019-nCoV spread rapidly and reaching epidemic proportions in many countries of the world. ACE2 was identified as a key receptor for 2019-nCoV infections. Excessive form of soluble ACE2 rescues cellular ACE2 activity which has a protective role in acute lung failure and neutralizes the virus. The short half-life of ACE2 is a major limitation to its practical application. Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems are one of the most widely investigated approaches for developing novel therapies for a variety of diseases. Nevertheless, nanoparticles suffer from the rapid removal from the bloodstream by the reticuloendothelial system (RES). A noncovalent attachment of nanoparticles to RBCs increases their half-life in blood and allows transient accumulation in the lungs, while decreases their uptake by the liver and spleen. Connecting the recombinant ACE2 into the surface of nanoparticles that were attached to RBCs can be a potential therapeutic approach for 2019-nCoV infection through increasing their lung targeting to naturalize the virus and also acting as a bioreactor in the blood circulation to decrease serum level of Angiotensin II and protects lungs from injury/ARDS.

Highlights

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or SARSCoV-2 is an enveloped RNA virus that it is spreading rapidly and scientists are trying to discover drugs for an effective treatment [1]
It has been reported that the angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) plays an important role in the entry of the virus into cells, the Angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2)-expressing cells may act as target cells and are susceptible to 2019-nCoV infection [4]
ACE2 is expressed in multiple extrapulmonary tissues including the human heart, kidneys, blood vessels, and intestine that might reveal the multiorgan dysfunction observed in patients [6, 7]

Summary

Introduction

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or SARSCoV-2 is an enveloped RNA virus that it is spreading rapidly and scientists are trying to discover drugs for an effective treatment [1]. Spike (S) proteins of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV and the 2019-nCoV, correlate with cellular receptors to mediate infection of their target cells Hypothesis and evaluation Recently, it has been reported that the serum level of Ang II is significantly raised in 2019-nCoV infected patients and shows a linear positive correlation to viral load and lung injury [22].

Results

Conclusion