The research community around the world has never been more engaged in developing treatments for a new disease than it has for COVID-19. The Liangfang Zhang research group at the University of California San Diego, working in collaboration with the Anthony Griffiths research group from Boston University School of Medicine, is no exception.
Reporting their findings in Nanoletters, the research teams have jointly demonstrated a unique approach that might stop SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 virus, from infecting human cells.
Cellular decoys
The researchers have developed two types of cellular nanosponge that bind to SARS-CoV-2 before it can enter human cells. These nanosponges consist of polymeric nanoparticles covered with membranes from one of the two human cell types that are known to be invaded by the virus, namely lung epithelial cells and macrophages. This means that the surfaces of the nanoparticles feature the exact same receptors and proteins that the virus would normally bind to. In a sense, the nanosponges act as cellular decoys by mimicking human cells and therefore offering alternative binding sites to SARS-CoV-2.
Zhang adds that the team is now focused on testing the efficacy of these nanosponges in appropriate animal models of COVID-19. If the data are positive, they will advance the nanosponges towards human clinical trials.
