A new study claimed that the small but powerful antibody “parts” of llamas may have the ability to treat “Covid-19”.
The antibodies of llamas are known to be several times smaller than the antibodies produced by humans, but they are more effective in neutralizing the Corona virus.
The researchers found that only a small portion of the nanogram – smaller than what can be seen with the naked eye – could prevent infection of up to a million cells.
The team, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, says this treatment is easier, faster, and cheaper to use than conventional antibodies, and it can be delivered directly to the lungs to prevent the virus from causing any harm.
Lead researcher Dr. Yi Shi, assistant professor of cell biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said: “Nature is our best inventor. The technology we have developed scans SARS-CoV-2 to neutralize nanobodies on an unprecedented scale, allowing us to discover thousands of nanobodies.” Unparalleled speed and privacy. ”
In the study, published in the journal Science, The team used a black llama called Wally to generate antibodies.
The Wally team injected a piece of the spiky protein for the Coronavirus, which the pathogen uses to enter and infect human cells.
About two months later, the animal’s immune system produced nanoparticles against the virus.
Using a technique called mass spectrometry, which looks at the mass-to-charge ratio of one or more molecules present in a sample, the researchers identified nanobodies in Wally’s blood, which bind to the virus most strongly.
To test its potency, they then exposed the nanobodies to live coronavirus particles. And just a fraction of the nanograms of nanobodies were able to neutralize enough viruses to save a million cells from infection.
Moreover, the team says that these antibodies can remain at room temperature for six weeks, unlike other drugs.
Nanobodies could also be developed for use as a mist that can be inhaled, so the treatment can be delivered directly to the lungs.
And because Corona virus is respiratory, nanobodies can find it and stick to it in the respiratory system, before it causes any harm.
Conversely, conventional human antibodies require an intravenous injection, which relieves treatment, requires a much larger dose and costs more money.
This is not the only study that looked at llamas, in the hope that these animals will help reduce the epidemic, which has killed more than 233,000 people in the United States.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin discovered an antibody produced by the llama, which binds to proteins on the surface of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and is a relative of the new virus.
By engineering the two copies of the antibody, it binded more effectively to the proteins of the new virus, essentially neutralizing them.
The team says it hopes to develop a treatment that is given to people as soon as they are infected with “Covid-19”.
Source: Daily Mail
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