SARS Coronavirus Fusion Peptide-Derived Sequence Suppresses Collagen-Induced Arthritis in DBA/1J Mice

During the co-evolution of viruses and their hosts, the viruses have evolved numerous strategies to counter and evade host antiviral immune responses in order to establish a successful infection, replicate and persist in the host. Recently, based on our model of immune signaling, the Signaling Chain HOmoOLigomerization (SCHOOL) model, we suggested specific molecular mechanisms used by different viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) to modulate the host immune response mediated by members of the family of multichain immune recognition receptors (MIRRs). This family includes T cell receptor (TCR) that is critically involved in immune diseases such as autoimmune arthritis. In the present study, we provide compelling experimental in vivo evidence in support of our hypothesis. Using the SCHOOL approach and the SARS-CoV fusion peptide sequence, we rationally designed a novel immunomodulatory peptide that targets TCR. We showed that this peptide ameliorates collagen-induced arthritis in DBA/1J mice and protects against bone and cartilage damage. Incorporation of the peptide into self-assembling lipopeptide nanoparticles that mimic native human high density lipoproteins significantly increases peptide dosage efficacy. Together, our data further confirm that viral immune evasion strategies that target MIRRs can be transferred to therapeutic strategies that require similar functionalities.