Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image courtesy : hiphotography, Pixabay.
Llama, the national animal of Bolivia, could hold the key to producing an antibody that neutralises SARS-CoV-2, according to a team of American and Belgian scientists who engineered the antibody in Belgium. However, more studies and clinical trials are needed to see if the antibody can be used in humans to treat covid.
Jason McLellan, from the University of Texas at Austin and co-author of the study published in the journal Cell on 5 May 2020, availed the summary findings initially to ScienceDaily on 1 May 2020. He described the llama antibody as one of the “first antibodies known to neutralise SARS-CoV-2”, the official name for the covid virus.
“With antibody therapies, you're directly giving somebody the protective antibodies and so, immediately after treatment, they should be protected.The antibodies could also be used to treat somebody who is already sick to lessen the severity of the disease,” Jason wrote in a press release.
The scientists have been working on coronaviruses for years. They injected the baby llama named Winter in 2016 with the viruses of SARS and MERS in the hope of developing treatments for the diseases.
Image : Winter the llama in Belgium. Courtesy of Tim Coppens.
Winter is four years old this year and lives on a farm operated by Ghent University's Vlaams Institute for Biotechnologym which said it has around 130 other llamas and alpacas at the facility.
Isolating antibodies from the llama against the coronaviruses are done in Belgium by staff including Dorien De Vlieger of Ghent University.
The scientists are amazed by the scientific impact of this project.
A llama’s immune system produces two types of antibodies when it detects pathogens, one similar to human antibodies and one that is about a quarter of the size.
The antibodies produced by Winter were found to be effective in targeting the SARS virus’s spike protein, which allows it to bind to human cells.
This year they decided to test the antibodies that Winter had produced during the SARS experiment to see if it could prove effective against SARS-CoV-2.
Although it did bind itself to SARS-CoV-2 it did so “weakly”, so the team then linked two copies of the antibody together to make it bind more effectively.
Therefore there may not be any covid treatment at all if the llamas' antibodies are found effective in stopping the virus. Daniel Wrapp from the University of Texas said "basic research" is all it takes to find antibodies.
The smaller type of antibodies produced by llamas, called single-domain antibodies or nanobodies, can be used in an inhaler, according to Wrapp.
“That makes them potentially really interesting as a drug for a respiratory pathogen because you're delivering it right to the site of infection,” said Wrapp.
Researchers created an antibody dubbed VHH-72Fc (blue) that binds tightly to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (pink, green and orange), blocking the virus from infecting cells. They are preparing for more trials with hamsters or primates to further test the antibody, before taking it to human trials. There are some commercial llama farms in Australia and the US.
Llamas are found aplenty in South America including Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia for multi-purposes. Andean Indians eat dried llama meat for nourishment and use the hides to make sandals while llama hair is used in clothing, handicrafts and rope. There are commercial llama farms in Australia and North America.
Ref :
University of Texas at Austin, Antibodies from llamas could help in fight against COVID-19, study suggests, ScienceDaily, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200501184301.htm
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image courtesy : hiphotography, Pixabay.
Llama, the national animal of Bolivia, could hold the key to producing an antibody that neutralises SARS-CoV-2, according to a team of American and Belgian scientists who engineered the antibody in Belgium. However, more studies and clinical trials are needed to see if the antibody can be used in humans to treat covid.
Jason McLellan, from the University of Texas at Austin and co-author of the study published in the journal Cell on 5 May 2020, availed the summary findings initially to ScienceDaily on 1 May 2020. He described the llama antibody as one of the “first antibodies known to neutralise SARS-CoV-2”, the official name for the covid virus.
“With antibody therapies, you're directly giving somebody the protective antibodies and so, immediately after treatment, they should be protected.The antibodies could also be used to treat somebody who is already sick to lessen the severity of the disease,” Jason wrote in a press release.
The scientists have been working on coronaviruses for years. They injected the baby llama named Winter in 2016 with the viruses of SARS and MERS in the hope of developing treatments for the diseases.
Winter is four years old this year and lives on a farm operated by Ghent University's Vlaams Institute for Biotechnologym which said it has around 130 other llamas and alpacas at the facility.
Isolating antibodies from the llama against the coronaviruses are done in Belgium by staff including Dorien De Vlieger of Ghent University.
The scientists are amazed by the scientific impact of this project.
A llama’s immune system produces two types of antibodies when it detects pathogens, one similar to human antibodies and one that is about a quarter of the size.
The antibodies produced by Winter were found to be effective in targeting the SARS virus’s spike protein, which allows it to bind to human cells.
This year they decided to test the antibodies that Winter had produced during the SARS experiment to see if it could prove effective against SARS-CoV-2.
Although it did bind itself to SARS-CoV-2 it did so “weakly”, so the team then linked two copies of the antibody together to make it bind more effectively.
Therefore there may not be any covid treatment at all if the llamas' antibodies are found effective in stopping the virus. Daniel Wrapp from the University of Texas said "basic research" is all it takes to find antibodies.
The smaller type of antibodies produced by llamas, called single-domain antibodies or nanobodies, can be used in an inhaler, according to Wrapp.
“That makes them potentially really interesting as a drug for a respiratory pathogen because you're delivering it right to the site of infection,” said Wrapp.
Researchers created an antibody dubbed VHH-72Fc (blue) that binds tightly to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (pink, green and orange), blocking the virus from infecting cells. They are preparing for more trials with hamsters or primates to further test the antibody, before taking it to human trials. There are some commercial llama farms in Australia and the US.
Llamas are found aplenty in South America including Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia for multi-purposes. Andean Indians eat dried llama meat for nourishment and use the hides to make sandals while llama hair is used in clothing, handicrafts and rope. There are commercial llama farms in Australia and North America.
Ref :
University of Texas at Austin, Antibodies from llamas could help in fight against COVID-19, study suggests, ScienceDaily, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200501184301.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment