Chewing gum to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission developed by Pennsylvania researchers [US], December 11 (ANI): a team of researchers has developed a chewing gum to which a plant-based protein has been added that acts as a “trap” for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, thus could reduce its transmission.
The study was published in the Molecular Therapy Journal.
The work, led by Henry Daniell at Penn’s School of Dental Medicine and performed in collaboration with scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine and School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as the Wistar Institute and Fraunhofer USA, could lead to a low-cost instrument in the arsenal against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“SARS-CoV-2 replicates in the salivary glands and we know that when someone who is infected sneezes, coughs or talks, some of that virus can be excreted and reach the others,” Daniell said.
“This gum offers the opportunity to neutralize the virus in saliva, providing us with an easy way to reduce a source of disease transmission,” he added.
Vaccinations for COVID-19 helped change the course of the pandemic, but they didn’t eliminate transmission. Even people who are fully vaccinated can still be infected with SARS-CoV-2, and according to recent research, they can carry a similar viral load to those who are not vaccinated.
Prior to the pandemic, Daniell had studied angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein in the context of treating hypertension. His lab cultured this protein, as well as many others that may have therapeutic potential, using a patented plant-based manufacturing system.Bombing the plant material with the DNA of the target proteins, they induced plant chloroplasts to absorb the DNA. and start growing proteins.
The freeze-dried and ground plant material could be used as a means of providing the protein. This system has the potential to avoid the usual obstacles to protein drug synthesis: namely, an expensive manufacturing and purification process.
Daniell’s past work on ACE2 proved fortuitous in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ACE2 receptor on human cells also bound to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Other research groups had shown that ACE2 injections could reduce viral load in people with severe infections.
Meanwhile, another line of work from Daniell and Penn Dental Medicine colleague Hyun (Michel) Koo had involved research to develop a vegetable protein-infused chewing gum to destroy dental plaque. Pairing his insights into ACE2 with this technology, Daniell wondered if such a gum, infused with plant-grown ACE2 proteins, could neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in the oral cavity.
To find out, he contacted Penn Medicine’s Ronald Collman, a virologist and pulmonary and critical care physician whose team had collected blood, nasal swabs, saliva and other biological samples from COVID patients for scientific research since the early stages of the pandemic.
“Henry contacted me and asked if we had samples to test his approach, what kind of samples would be appropriate to test and if we could internally validate the level of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the saliva samples,” Collman said.
“This has led to a collaboration between schools that builds on our microbiome studies,” he added.
To test the chewing gum, the team cultured ACE2 in plants, paired with another compound that allowed the protein to cross mucosal barriers and facilitate binding, and incorporated the resulting plant material into gum-flavored tablets. cinnamon. Incubation of nasopharyngeal swab specimens from COVID positive patients with gingiva showed that ACE2 present could neutralize SARS-CoV-2 viruses.
Those initial investigations were followed by others at The Wistar Institute and Penn Vet, in which viruses, less pathogenic than SARS-CoV-2, were modified to express the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The scientists observed that the gum largely prevented viruses or viral particles from entering the cells, either by blocking the ACE2 receptor on the cells or by binding directly to the spike protein.
Finally, the team exposed saliva samples from COVID-19 patients to ACE2 gum and found that viral RNA levels dropped so dramatically that they were almost undetectable.
The research team is currently working to obtain permission to conduct a clinical trial to assess whether the approach is safe and effective when tested on people infected with SARS-CoV-2.
“Henry’s approach of making the proteins in plants and using them orally is inexpensive, hopefully scalable; it’s really smart,” Collman said.
Although research is still in the early stages of development, if clinical studies show that gum is safe and effective, it could be given to patients whose infection status is unknown or even for dental check-ups when masks need to be removed for. reduce the likelihood of passing the virus to caregivers.
“We are already using masks and other physical barriers to reduce the possibility of transmission,” said Daniell.
“This rubber could be used as an additional tool in that fight,” he concluded. (ANI)
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