Publications by authors named "Maximilian A J Harman"
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a metalloprotease that cleaves angiotensin II, a peptide substrate involved in the regulation of hypertension. Here, we identified a series of constrained bicyclic peptides, , inhibitors of human ACE2 by panning highly diverse bacteriophage display libraries. These were used to generate X-ray crystal structures which were used to inform the design of additional with increased affinity and inhibition of ACE2 enzymatic activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - COVID-19 has led to the swift creation of new antiviral treatments, including a novel approach using "Bicycles," which are specially structured peptides that target SARS-CoV-2.
- - By screening bacteriophage libraries, researchers identified specific Bicycle binders that were enhanced from micromolar to nanomolar efficacy through a process called multimerization.
- - Testing in mouse models showed that these multimerized and biparatopic Bicycles effectively reduce viral load and inflammation, highlighting their potential as a new antiviral strategy against evolving viruses like SARS-CoV-2.