Human monoclonal antibodies block the binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor

Lilin Ye; Xiangyu Chen; Ren Li; Zhiwei Pan; Chunfeng Qian; Yang Yang; Renrong You; Jing Zhao; Leiqong Gao; Zhirong Li; Qizhao Huang; Lifan Xu; Jianfang Tang; Qin Tian; Wei Yao; Li Hu; Xiaofeng Yan; Xinyuan Zhou; Pinghuang Liu; Yuzhang Wu; Kai Deng; Zheng Zhang; Yaokai Chen; Zhaohui Qian

The! severe! acute! respiratory! syndrome! coronavirus! 2! (SARS^CoV^2)! has! caused! a! global!pandemic!of!novel!corona!virus!disease!(COVID^19).!To!date,!no!prophylactic! vaccines!or!approved!therapeutic!agents!are!available!for!preventing!and!treating!this! highly! transmittable! disease.! Here! we! report! two! monoclonal! antibodies! (mAbs)! cloned!from!memory!B!cells!of!patients!recently!recovered!from!COVID^19,!and!both! mAbs!specifically!bind!to!the!spike!(S)!protein!of!SARS^CoV^2,!block!the!binding!of! receptor! binding! domain! (RBD)! of! SARS^CoV^2! to! human! angiotensin! converting! enzyme!2!(hACE2),!and!effectively!neutralize!S!protein^pseudotyped!virus!infection.! These!human!mAbs!hold!the!promise!for!the!prevention!and!treatment!of!the!ongoing! pandemic!of!COVID^19.! ! ! ! All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.