BioCentury
ARTICLE | Translation in Brief

A SARS-CoV-2 genome degrader; neutralizing influenza B mAbs; Fulcrum’s sickle cell therapy increases fetal hemoglobin and more

BioCentury’s roundup of translational news

October 3, 2020 1:38 AM UTC

Matt Disney’s small molecule RNA degraders for COVID-19
A Scripps Research team led by Expansion Therapeutics Inc. founder Matthew Disney published an ACS Central Science study describing a small molecule that binds a SARS-CoV-2 hairpin RNA structure that facilitates translation of proteins required for viral replication. On its own, the compound inhibited the function of hairpin structure, which works via frameshifting, and reduced translation of a reporter protein. A ribonuclease targeting chimera (RIBOTAC) incorporating the compound recruited cellular ribonucleases to destroy the viral genome. Disney’s RIBOTACS are part of a growing set of technologies that apply the logic of targeted protein degraders to other therapeutic enzymatic functions (see “Broadening the TAC Toolbox”).

Broadly neutralizing influenza B virus mAbs
Icahn School of Medicine’s Florian Krammer and his colleagues have identified patient-derived broadly neutralizing mAbs against influenza B virus neuraminidase that were able to protect mice infected with lethal doses of influenza B virus. In a paper in Immunity, they demonstrated via plaque reduction assays that the mAbs potently inhibited multiple strains of the two influenza B lineages...