Inhaled oligonucleotides to generate a decoy receptor for SARS-CoV-2
This collaborative research project is investigating the potential inhaled treatment for COVID-19 that has a different mechanism than other treatments and vaccines in development. COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus that uses the cell- surface protein, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2), to access and infect cells of the lung. Most vaccines and other potential treatments focus on blocking the coronavirus. The research team have taken a different approach by targeting ACE2. They have discovered a novel way to change ACE2 in order to prevent the coronavirus using it to get into the lung cells. Moreover, they can now do this without losing the good things that ACE2 does in the lung.
