Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) efficiently blocks the interaction between ACE2 cell surface receptor and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein D614, mutants D614G, N501Y, K417N and E484K in vitro

View ORCID ProfileHoai Thi Thu Tran, Nguyen Phan Khoi Le, Michael Gigl, View ORCID ProfileCorinna Dawid, View ORCID ProfileEvelyn Lamy
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.19.435959
Hoai Thi Thu Tran
1Molecular Preventive Medicine, University Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine – University of Freiburg, Engesserstraße 4, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Hoai Thi Thu Tran
Nguyen Phan Khoi Le
1Molecular Preventive Medicine, University Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine – University of Freiburg, Engesserstraße 4, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Michael Gigl
2Institute of Food Chemistry and Molecular Sensory Science, Technical University of Munich, Lise-Meitner-Str. 34, 85354 Freising, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Corinna Dawid
2Institute of Food Chemistry and Molecular Sensory Science, Technical University of Munich, Lise-Meitner-Str. 34, 85354 Freising, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Corinna Dawid
Evelyn Lamy
1Molecular Preventive Medicine, University Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine – University of Freiburg, Engesserstraße 4, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Evelyn Lamy
  • For correspondence: evelyn.lamy@uniklinik-freiburg.de
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

On 11th March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). To date, there are rapidly spreading new “variants of concern” of SARS-CoV-2, the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7), the South African (B.1.351) or Brasilian (P.1) variant. All of them contain multiple mutations in the ACE2 receptor recognition site of the spike protein, compared to the original Wuhan sequence, which is of great concern, because of their potential for immune escape. Here we report on the efficacy of common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) to block protein-protein interaction of spike S1 to the human ACE2 cell surface receptor. This could be shown for the original spike D614, but also for its mutant forms (D614G, N501Y, and mix of K417N, E484K, N501Y) in human HEK293-hACE2 kidney and A549-hACE2-TMPRSS2 lung cells. High molecular weight compounds in the water-based extract account for this effect. Infection of the lung cells using SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped lentivirus particles was efficiently prevented by the extract and so was virus-triggered pro-inflammatory interleukin 6 secretion. Modern herbal monographs consider the usage of this medicinal plant as safe. Thus, the in vitro results reported here should encourage further research on the clinical relevance and applicability of the extract as prevention strategy for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Significance statement SARS-CoV-2 is steadily mutating during continuous transmission among humans. This might eventually lead the virus into evading existing therapeutic and prophylactic approaches aimed at the viral spike. We found effective inhibition of protein-protein interaction between the human virus cell entry receptor ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 spike, including five relevant mutations, by water-based common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) extracts. This was shown in vitro using human kidney (HEK293) and lung (A549) cells, overexpressing the ACE2 and ACE2/TMPRSS2 protein, respectively. Infection of the lung cells using SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped lentivirus was efficiently prevented by the extract. The results deserve more in-depth analysis of dandelions’ effectiveness in SARS-CoV-2 prevention and now require confirmatory clinical evidence.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted March 19, 2021.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) efficiently blocks the interaction between ACE2 cell surface receptor and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein D614, mutants D614G, N501Y, K417N and E484K in vitro
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) efficiently blocks the interaction between ACE2 cell surface receptor and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein D614, mutants D614G, N501Y, K417N and E484K in vitro
Hoai Thi Thu Tran, Nguyen Phan Khoi Le, Michael Gigl, Corinna Dawid, Evelyn Lamy
bioRxiv 2021.03.19.435959; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.19.435959
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) efficiently blocks the interaction between ACE2 cell surface receptor and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein D614, mutants D614G, N501Y, K417N and E484K in vitro
Hoai Thi Thu Tran, Nguyen Phan Khoi Le, Michael Gigl, Corinna Dawid, Evelyn Lamy
bioRxiv 2021.03.19.435959; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.19.435959

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Microbiology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4114)
  • Biochemistry (8816)
  • Bioengineering (6519)
  • Bioinformatics (23464)
  • Biophysics (11792)
  • Cancer Biology (9209)
  • Cell Biology (13325)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (7439)
  • Ecology (11412)
  • Epidemiology (2066)
  • Evolutionary Biology (15152)
  • Genetics (10439)
  • Genomics (14044)
  • Immunology (9172)
  • Microbiology (22159)
  • Molecular Biology (8813)
  • Neuroscience (47575)
  • Paleontology (350)
  • Pathology (1429)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2492)
  • Physiology (3730)
  • Plant Biology (8082)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1437)
  • Synthetic Biology (2221)
  • Systems Biology (6039)
  • Zoology (1253)