PENNSYLVANIA: Chewing a gum made with a plant-grown protein can potentially trap the SARS-CoV-2 virus, reducing its presence in the saliva and therefore, oral transmission of Coronavirus
This research and investigation has been successfully carried out and, led by Henry Daniell at Penn’s School of Dental Medicine in collaboration with his team of scientists at the Perelman School of Medicine.
In a quantifiable measure of viral load in saliva microbubbles, the chewing gum laced with the ACE2 protein initiated a reduction in the amount of virus in samples taken from COVID-19 patients.
“SARS-CoV-2 replicates in the salivary glands, and we know that when someone who is infected sneezes, coughs, or speaks some of that virus can be expelled and reach others,” says Daniell. “This gum offers an opportunity to neutralize the virus in the saliva, giving us a simple way to possibly cut down on a source of disease transmission.”
The plant material present in the gum is incorporated by freeze-drying the material and crushing it before adding it to the chewing gum This system has the potential to avoid the usual obstacles to protein drug synthesis: namely, an expensive production and purification process.
To see if the chewing gum works, the team of scientists grew ACE2 in plants, along with another compound that allowed the protein to permeate mucosal barriers and facilitate binding.
The team then introduced the saliva samples from COVID-19 patients to the ACE2 gum and successfully recorded that levels of viral RNA reduced so dramatically that they were almost undetectable or had fully diminshed.
Penn Dental Medicine’s Henry Daniell and colleagues used a plant-based protein drug production platform to grow the ACE2 protein, which was then infused in chewing gum. By either blocking the ACE2 receptor or binding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, the ACE2 in the gum appears to be able to reduce viral entry into cells.
Though the research is still in early stages of development, if the clinical trials prove the gum is safe and effective, it could be given to patients whose infection status is unknown or even for a dental check-ups when masks must be removed, to reduce the likelihood of passing the virus to caregivers.