Designed miniproteins potently inhibit and protect against MERS-CoV

Abstract

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic pathogen with a 36% case-fatality rate in humans. No vaccines or specific therapeutics are currently approved for use in humans or the camel host reservoir. Here, we computationally designed monomeric and homo-oligomeric miniproteins that bind with high affinity to the MERS-CoV spike (S) glycoprotein, the main target of neutralizing antibodies and vaccine development. We show that these miniproteins broadly neutralize a panel of MERS-CoV S variants, spanning the known antigenic diversity of this pathogen, by targeting a conserved site in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). The miniproteins directly compete with binding of the dipeptidylpeptidase 4 (DPP4) receptor to MERS-CoV S, thereby blocking viral attachment to the host entry receptor and subsequent membrane fusion. Intranasal administration of a lead miniprotein provides prophylactic protection against stringent MERS-CoV challenge in mice, motivating its future clinical development as a next-generation countermeasure against this virus with pandemic potential.

Keywords: CP: Immunology; MERS-CoV; VSV-neutralization; X-ray crystallography; coronaviruses; cryo-EM; fusion assays; miniproteins; protein design; spike glycoprotein; therapeutics.