Potential Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Activity of Pentosan Polysulfate and Mucopolysaccharide Polysulfate

Authors:

Fuming Zhang1,*, Peng He2, Andre L. Rodrigues1, Walter Jeske3, Ritesh Tandon4,5, John T. Bates4,5, Michael A. Bierdeman5, Jawed Fareed3, Jonathan Dordick1 and Robert J. Linhardt1,2,6,*

Affiliation:

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
  2. Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
  3. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
  4. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA
  5. Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA
  6. Departments of Biological Science and Biomedical Engineering, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA

Description:

With the increased prevalence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, such as Delta and Omicron, the COVID-19 pandemic has become an ongoing human health disaster, killing millions worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 invades its host through the interaction of its spike (S) protein with a host cell receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). In addition, heparan sulfate (HS) on the surface of host cells plays an important role as a co-receptor for this viral pathogen–host cell interaction. Our previous studies demonstrated that many sulfated glycans, such as heparin, fucoidans, and rhamnan sulfate have anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities. In the current study, a small library of sulfated glycans and highly negatively charged compounds, including pentosan polysulfate (PPS), mucopolysaccharide polysulfate (MPS), sulfated lactobionic acid, sulodexide, and defibrotide, was assembled and evaluated for binding to the S-proteins and inhibition of viral infectivity in vitro. These compounds inhibited the interaction of the S-protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) (wild type and different variants) with immobilized heparin, a highly sulfated HS, as determined using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). PPS and MPS showed the strongest inhibition of interaction of heparin and S-protein RBD. The competitive binding studies showed that the IC50 of PPS and MPS against the S-protein RBD binding to immobilized heparin was ~35 nM and ~9 nM, respectively, much lower than the IC50 for soluble heparin (IC50 = 56 nM). Both PPS and MPS showed stronger inhibition than heparin on the S-protein RBD or spike pseudotyped lentiviral particles binding to immobilized heparin. Finally, in an in vitro cell-based assay, PPS and MPS exhibited strong antiviral activities against pseudotyped viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 containing wild-type or Delta S-proteins.

Publications:

  • Zhang, Fuming, Peng He, Andre L. Rodrigues, Walter Jeske, Ritesh Tandon, John T. Bates, Michael A. Bierdeman, Jawed Fareed, Jonathan Dordick, and Robert J. Linhardt.; Potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of pentosan polysulfate and mucopolysaccharide polysulfate; Pharmaceuticals, 2022
  • Tags:

    Heparan sulfate
    Heparin
    SARS-CoV-2
    Surface plasmon resonance

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