Extracellular vesicles containing ACE2 efficiently prevent infection by SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein-containing virus.

Link to DOI – 10.1101/2020.07.08.193672

bioRxiv, 2020 Jul;

SARS-CoV-2 entry is mediated by binding of the spike protein (S) to the surface receptor ACE2 and subsequent priming by TMPRRS2 allowing membrane fusion. Here, we produced extracellular vesicles (EVs) exposing ACE2 and demonstrate that ACE2-EVs are efficient decoys for SARS-CoV-2 S protein-containing lentivirus. Reduction of infectivity positively correlates with the level of ACE2, is 500 to 1500 times more efficient than with soluble ACE2 and further enhanced by the inclusion of TMPRSS2.