A research team at the University of Reading in the UK “Nanoantibodies of llama are effective in treating and preventing Corona”
Effectively neutralizes mutated viruses
Recently, a study result showed that antibodies extracted from llamas can treat even a mutant virus of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
A research team from the Rosalind Franklin Institute at the University of Reading in the UK has found that nanoantibodies produced by llamas and camels can effectively neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
The llama antibody is only one-quarter the length of a human antibody and weighs only one-tenth, so it is called a nanobody. Antibodies are substances produced by antigen stimulation within the immune system, and are glycoproteins that inactivate antigens such as viruses and bacteria and induce extracellular stimulation against microorganisms that invade the body. Antibodies against COVID-19 instead bind to and neutralize the spike, which is the part where the coronavirus binds to human cells, and the bound virus is attacked by other immune cells and destroyed.
After injecting the llama with the spike protein of the coronavirus, the research team extracted antibodies from the llama’s blood and then linked three antibodies with strong binding strength to increase the binding ability to the virus. After that, nanoantibodies were mass-produced through cell culture.
As a result of administering the nano-antibody chain to a hamster infected with Corona, it was found that it recovered in 7 days and the amount of virus was significantly reduced.
Public Health England (PHE) praised the study as “there is significant potential for both the treatment and prevention of coronavirus” and “the most effective coronavirus neutralizer ever tested”.
In particular, in cell experiments, nanoantibodies have been shown to effectively neutralize alpha and beta mutated viruses as well as existing coronaviruses.
The research team said that llama nanoantibodies are easy to mass-produce through biological culture and are inexpensive. In addition, unlike existing antibody therapeutics, nanoantibodies have a small particle size, so they can be sprayed directly into the respiratory tract without the help of a specialist.
Professor James Naismith said, “Vaccines have been proven to be effective, but not everyone responds to the vaccine equally, and the timing of the decline in immunity is different,” stressing the importance of treatment. “The world is not getting vaccinated at the same rate, and there remains the risk of new mutations that could circumvent vaccine efficacy,” he added.
This study was published in the international academic journal ‘Nature Communication’.
자료 = Rosalind Franklin Institute
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