Journal: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Article Title: Plant Cell-Engineered Gold Nanoparticles Conjugated to Quercetin Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 and HSV-1 Entry
doi: 10.3390/ijms241914792
Figure Lengend Snippet: Possible mechanism by which plant cell derived gold nanoparticles conjugated to quercetin (pAuNPsQ) inhibits virus–host cell interactions. ( A ) Quercetin-conjugated gold nanoparticles block HSV-1 entry by interacting with the HSV-1 entry glycoprotein and/or targeting host cell receptors, as evident from our virus neutralization and cell pre-treatment assays (sub panel ( a )). Since multiple viral glycoproteins and host cell receptors are involved in facilitating HSV-1 entry, the actions by pAuNPsQ could be predicted to be pleiotropic in nature, having an affinity for one or more HSV-1 envelope virus glycoproteins (gB, gD, gH-gL) as well as for one or more host cell receptors. In contrast, quercetin-conjugated gold nanoparticles did not affect SARAS-CoV-2 neutralization, while pre-treatment with quercetin conjugated gold nanoparticles inhibited SARS-CoV-2 entry suggesting the possible interactions between pAuNPsQ with the host cell surface ACE2 receptor (sub panel ( b )). ( B ) The proposed development of virus-specific gold nanoparticles can be generated by conjugating pAuNPsQ to the virus-specific anti-envelope glycoprotein D (gD) peptides in case for HSV-1 (sub panel ( a )). Similarly conjugating pAuNPs to anti-spike envelope proteins could be used for the development of robust anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent (sub panel ( b )). In addition, tagging quercetin-based gold nanoparticles with anti-host cell receptor peptides (anti-heparan sulfate or anti-ACE2) can equally be tailored for their antiviral activity against specific viruses.
Article Snippet: A chemically synthesized amine functional group capped with gold spherical nanoparticles (cAuNPs; 20–22 nm size) was purchased from Nanopartz.
Techniques: Derivative Assay, Virus, Blocking Assay, Neutralization, Generated, Activity Assay