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Pharmacology & Chemical Biology Seminar Series
9/15/2022 - 12:00 PM-1:00 PM
"The Novel Treatment of Engineered hACE-2 Decoy Peptide to SARS-CoV-2 & Its Variants-Induced Acute Lung Injury"  

Lianghui (Lucy) Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor of Medicine 
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care Medicine 
Vascular Medicine Institute 
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine  

“Continuing emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern that may escape vaccine-induced immune responses highlight the urgent need for effective COVID-19 therapeutics. We identified an engineered soluble ACE2 protein (sACE22.v2.4-IgG1), which markedly augmented the affinity for the S protein of the SARS-CoV-2 multiple variants of concern (VOCs): B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.617.2 (Delta), and B.1.1.529 (omicron). We demonstrated prophylactic and therapeutic injections of sACE22.v2.4-IgG1 prevented lung vascular injury and edema formation induced by SARS-CoV-2 VOCs including omicron. Furthermore, we found that the catalytic activity of the decoy receptor is required for its therapeutic efficacy to increase survival of SARS-CoV-2 infected K18-hACE2 transgenic mice."
 

Thomas E. Starzl Biomedical Science Tower
1395 Conference Room
203 Lothrop St
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Contact
Melanie Hoffner

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