Author

Z. Ku

Listed by name: these papers carry no ORCID for this author, so different people with the same name may be mixed together.

Biology Disciplines

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Microbiology· 7 Bioengineering· 1 Physiology· 1

Signature Assays, Organisms & Methods

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Approach:experimental assay· 9 Organism:human· 7 Research Focus:host-pathogen & immune response· 6 Organism:mouse· 6 Assay:proteomics· 5 Research Focus:drug response / drug discovery· 4 Research Focus:cell type annotation· 2 Assay:bulk RNA-seq· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Z. An· 9 shared V. D. Menachery· 5 shared X. Xie· 5 shared N. Zhang· 4 shared P.-Y. Shi· 4 shared Y. Liu· 4 shared B. A. Johnson· 3 shared C. Schindewolf· 3 shared

Activity by Year

2020-2023 · peak 3/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

10 top collaborators · 42 mutual co-author links

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9 shared papersMicrobiology

Z. An

Mutual co-authors in cluster

Author profile →

9 papers

Recent·Most cited

An ACE2 decamer viral trap as a durable intervention solution for current and future SARS-CoV

H. Guo, B. Cho, P. R. Hinton, S. He, Y. Yu, A. K. Ramesh, J. P. Sivaccumar, Z. Ku, K. Campo, S. Holland, S. Sachdeva, C. Mensch, M. Dawod, A. Whitaker, P. Eisenhauer, , T.-M. Fu

This paper introduces an ACE2 decamer viral trap that neutralizes multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants and related coronaviruses through inhalation, showing durability and effectiveness in preclinical models.

bioRxiv · Jul 10, 2023Microbiology

Potent and pan-neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern by DARPins

V. K. Chonira, Y.-D. Kwon, J. Gorman, J. B. Case, Z. Ku, R. Simeon, R. G. Casner, D. R. Harris, A. S. Olia, T. Stevens, L. Shapiro, H. Boyd, Y. Tsybovsky, F. Krammer, M. Diamond, , Z. Chen

This paper reports the development of two DARPins, FSR16m and FSR22, that potently neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants, including emerging ones, with efficacy comparable to therapeutic antibodies.

bioRxiv · May 30, 2022 · PreprintBioengineering

Engineering SARS-CoV-2 cocktail antibodies into a bispecific format improves neutralizing potency and breadth

Z. Ku, X. Xie, J. Lin, P. Gao, A. E. Sahili, H. Su, Y. Liu, X. Ye, X. Li, X. Fan, B. C. Goh, W. Xiong, H. Boyd, A. E. Muruato, H. Deng, , Z. An

This study engineers bispecific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, showing that one design outperforms a cocktail in neutralizing activity and breadth against variants.

bioRxiv · Feb 1, 2022 · PreprintMicrobiology

Delta spike P681R mutation enhances SARS-CoV-2 fitness over Alpha variant

Y. Liu, J. Liu, B. A. Johnson, H. Xia, Z. Ku, C. Schindewolf, S. G. Widen, Z. An, S. Weaver, V. D. Menachery, X. Xie, P.-Y. Shi

This study identifies the P681R mutation in the Delta variant's spike protein as critical for enhanced viral replication compared to the Alpha variant through increased furin cleavage of the spike protein.

bioRxiv · Aug 12, 2021Microbiology

Structural basis for HCMV Pentamer recognition by antibodies and neuropilin 2

D. Wrapp, X. Ye, Z. Ku, H. Su, H. G. Jones, N. Wang, A. K. Mishra, D. C. Freed, F. Li, A. Tang, L. Li, D. K. Jaijyan, H. Zhu, D. Wang, T.-M. Fu, , J. S. McLellan

This study determines the cryo-EM structure of HCMV Pentamer bound to neuropilin 2 and neutralizing antibodies, revealing molecular interactions and epitopes involved in viral tropism and neutralization.

bioRxiv · Mar 25, 2021 · PreprintMicrobiology

The N501Y spike substitution enhances SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Y. Liu, J. Liu, K. S. Plante, J. A. Plante, X. Xie, X. Zhang, Z. Ku, Z. An, D. Scharton, C. Schindewolf, V. D. Menachery, P.-Y. Shi, S. C. Weaver

The paper shows the N501Y spike mutation in SARS-CoV-2 enhances viral transmission in hamsters and human airway cells by increasing receptor binding affinity.

bioRxiv · Mar 8, 2021 · PreprintMicrobiology

Asprosin Neutralizing Antibodies as a Treatment for Metabolic Syndrome

I. Mishra, C. Duerrschmid, Z. Ku, W. Xie, E. S. Silva, J. Hoffman, W. Xin, N. Zhang, Z. An, A. Chopra

This paper shows anti-asprosin monoclonal antibodies reduce appetite, body weight, and blood glucose in metabolic syndrome mouse models.

bioRxiv · Sep 15, 2020 · PreprintPhysiology

Spike mutation D614G alters SARS-CoV-2 fitness and neutralization susceptibility

J. A. Plante, Y. Liu, J. Liu, H. Xia, B. A. Johnson, K. G. Lokugamage, X. Zhang, A. E. Muruato, J. Zou, C. R. Fontes-Garfias, D. Mirchandani, D. Scharton, J. P. Bilello, Z. Ku, Z. An, , P.-Y. Shi

This study shows the D614G mutation in SARS-CoV-2 increases viral replication and upper respiratory tract viral loads but does not reduce vaccine efficacy or antibody neutralization.

bioRxiv · Sep 1, 2020Microbiology

Furin Cleavage Site Is Key to SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis

B. A. Johnson, X. Xie, B. Kalveram, K. G. Lokugamage, A. Muruato, J. Zou, X. Zhang, T. Juelich, J. K. Smith, L. Zhang, C. Schindewolf, M. N. Vu, A. Vanderheiden, J. A. Plante, K. S. Plante, , V. D. Menachery

This study shows that removing the furin cleavage site from SARS-CoV-2 increases replication in Vero cells but reduces replication in respiratory cells and pathogenesis in hamsters, while also decreasing neutralization susceptibility.

bioRxiv · Aug 26, 2020 · PreprintMicrobiology