Ha-CoV-2 – Introducing cutting-edge technology for Covid Research

New proprietary hybrid alphavirus-SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirion

Ha-CoV-2 is a newly developed hybrid SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particle (VLP) which encapsulates an alphavirus-derived RNA genome for rapid reporter expression (luciferase or GFP) in target cells¹ (patent pending).

Specialized in the development of cutting-edge technologies in virology, Virongy have made an important step forward in the development of Covid research tools by developing this Ha-CoV-2 pseudovirion.

Assembled with all 4 COVID SARS-CoV-2 structure proteins

Ha-CoV-2 is different from commonly used S protein pseudotyped lenti- or vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)- pseudoviruses. It is assembled with all 4 structural proteins (S, M, N, and E) of SARS-CoV-2 (fig 1), and contains a reporter genome derived from an alphavirus-based vector for rapid 6-hour,  robust expression of reporter genes.

Ha-CoV-2 represents a major technological advancement in the development of SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses and serves as a platform for rapid and robust quantification of neutralizing antibodies, viral mutants, and antiviral drugs^2,3 .

To facilitate advances in anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug development, Virongy have also developed this new hybrid technology for all the new variants (UK – Brazilian – South – African – New York lineage ….) 

Fig 1 - right: Schematic overview of the assembly of Ha-CoV-2 particles.

Major advantages over classical Pseudovirus solutions

• Faster speed – As fast as 6 hours for the detection of reporter expression for Ha-CoV-2, versus 2-3 days for S protein pseudotyped lentivirus.
• More robust reporter signal - Ha-CoV-2 draws on the advantages of the rapid and robust gene expression capacity of alphavirus vectors for reporter expression( Fig.2)
• High fidelity in particle structure – Ha-CoV-2 contains all 4 SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins (S, M, E, and N), but no structural proteins from other viruses. In contrast, lenti- and VSV- pseudoviruses contain only the S protein from SARS-CoV-2, and multiple structural proteins from other viruses, such as HIV-1 Gag and Pol.

Cutting-edge technology for a broad range of applications

This new and innovative hybrid alphavirus-SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirion can be used for a broad range of applications to simplify and speed up your SARS-CoV-2 drug development program.

• Screening and quantification of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (Fig. 3)
• Anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug screening
• Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 viral mutants
• Identification of host co-factors and restriction factors of SARS-CoV-2

Fig. 3 - left: Neutralizing antibody activity measured with Ha-CoV-2(Luc).

50 µl of Ha-CoV-2(Luc) (Cat# HaCoV2Luc-01) was incubated with serially diluted anti-serum for 1 hour at 37°C. The virus-antibody complex was used to infect 40,000 HEK293T(ACE2/TMPRSS2) target cells in a 96-well plate. Luciferase assay was performed at 12 hours post infection.

Optimize your time - develop more accurate anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs with the new Ha-CoV-2 hybrid solution!

Accelerate your projects – let our lab perform the experiments for you

These new pre-assembled Ha-CoV-2 reporter pseudovirions ( WT or Variants) are available to order in Europe through tebu-bio.

But did you know that tebu-bio can help you by performing your antiviral drug screening and quantification of neutralizing antibodies directly at our European based laboratory?

References

1. Hetrick, B., He, S., Chilin, L.D., Dabbagh, D., Alem, F., Narayanan, A., Luchini, A., Li, T., Liu, X., Liotta, L., et al. (2020). Development of a novel hybrid alphavirus-SARS-CoV-2 particle for rapid in vitro screening and quantification of neutralization antibodies, antiviral drugs, and viral mutations. bioRxiv, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.22.423965
2. Dabbagh, D., He, S., Hetrick, B., Chilin, L., Andalibi, A., and Wu, Y. (2021). Identification of the SHREK family of proteins as broad-spectrum host antiviral factors. bioRxiv, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.02.429469
3. He, S., Waheed, A.A., Hetrick, B., Dabbagh, D., Akhrymuk, I.V., Kehn-Hall, K., Freed, E.O., and Wu, Y. (2021). PSGL-1 Inhibits the Incorporation of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoproteins into Pseudovirions and Impairs Pseudovirus Attachment and Infectivity. Viruses 13, 46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/v13010046