Quantifying and combating zoonotic viruses poised for emergence: Using multiplex receptor screening and decoy...

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Immunology
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Millions of zoonotic viruses pose pandemic risks, with over two-thirds capable of infecting humans.
• Current reactive countermeasures (vaccines, antivirals) show limitations against emerging viral threats.
• Understanding viral receptor utilization is critical for assessing spillover risk and developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a paradigm shift towards proactive antiviral interventions using host-identified decoy receptor therapeutics.
• To develop a scalable platform for engineering broad-spectrum decoys against pandemic-ready viruses.
• To enhance pandemic preparedness and the development of novel antiviral therapeutics.

Main Methods:

• Integration of high-throughput receptor screening platforms with AI-driven de novo engineering.
• Development of multivalent decoy therapeutics designed to impose high evolutionary barriers to resistance.
• Utilizing modular engineering strategies to achieve potent pan-viral prophylaxis and therapy.

Main Results:

• A unified framework for designing pandemic-ready broad-spectrum decoys has been introduced.
• The proposed approach facilitates the preemptive development of robust countermeasures against zoonotic viruses.
• The strategy aims to impose significant evolutionary barriers, even in convergent evolution scenarios.

Conclusions:

• A novel, proactive strategy centered on decoy receptor therapeutics can reshape the approach to combating zoonotic viral threats.
• This integrated pipeline is expected to facilitate the development of effective countermeasures for known and future viral emergences.
• The approach holds the potential to significantly improve pandemic preparedness and save lives.