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- Trivendra Tripathi et al.
- 07 April,2023
High-Affinity Neutralizing DNA Aptamers against SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Variants
COVID 2023, 3, 520–542. https:// doi.org/10.3390/covid3040038
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Abstract: The continuous emergence of new variants of concern for SARS-CoV-2 has created a
challenge for existing therapies. To address this, we developed a series of single-stranded DNA
aptamers that not only bind specifically to the trimer S protein of SARS-CoV-2 but also block the
interaction between the trimer S protein and ACE2 receptors. The systematic evolution of ligands
by exponential enrichment (SELEX) was performed to select the aptamers for SARS-CoV-2 trimer
S protein. ELISA-based assay and flow cytometry were performed to test the apatmers’ binding and
inhibition of trimer S protein in vitro. Binding affinity was measured using surface plasmon resonance.
Significance was determined in Prism 9.0 using the one-way ANOVA test (Dunnett’s multiple
comparisons test) or two-way ANOVA test (Tukey’s multiple comparisons test) for comparisons.
The p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. After 12 rounds of SELEX, eight highly
enriched aptamers were able to bind to the trimer S protein of the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan original strain
as well as the trimer S proteins of the Delta, Delta plus, Alpha, Lambda, Mu, and Omicron variants,
with affinities in the nM range, while also inhibiting their interaction with ACE2 receptors in Vero E6
cells. Modifications to our best aptamer were made by adding forward and reverse primer sequences
and truncation. The modified aptamers AYA2012004_L and AYA2012004_L-M1 showed up to 70%
inhibition of the binding of virus-like particles (VLPs) expressing S protein to the ACE2 receptor
expressed in HEK293T cells. Our findings imply that the selected aptamers can prevent SARS-CoV-2
from entering host cells and hence suppress the viral infection. In addition, the findings suggest that
the selected aptamers might be an innovative therapy for the treatment of COVID-19.
