Llama antibodies might bring us closer to neutralizing COVID-19
Winter (front) and her llama cohort could play a key role in neutralizing the virus.
Tim Coppens
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Those who had lamas from Belgium on their bingo card for social isolation can tick this box.
According to a peer review study is expected to be released in Cell on May 5Llama blood could be the key to unlocking new treatments for COVID-19 – and reducing stress Corona virus Pandemic has given birth to the world.
The study describes how specific antibodies in llama blood can be assembled to produce a new antibody that can bind the spike protein that the coronavirus infects cells with. By binding to the spike protein, the antibody can prevent the corona virus known as SARS-CoV-2 from infecting other cells in culture.
“This is one of the first antibodies known to neutralize SARS-CoV-2,” said Jason McLellan, molecular biologist at the University of Texas at Austin and co-senior author of the study.
Winter is four years old and still lives on a farm in the Belgian countryside.
Tim Coppens
This was discovered in part thanks to the efforts of a 4-year-old Belgian lama named Winter. In 2016, Winter helped scientists examine the coronaviruses that cause SARS and MERS by injecting active spike proteins for weeks.
As a result, scientists have been able to identify antibodies that move against these spike proteins and isolate those that have shown promise in neutralizing the virus. Winter blooms four years later, and this early work means that we are one step closer to neutralizing COVID-19.
“It was exciting for me because I worked on it for years,” said Daniel Wrapp, co-lead author of the study and part of the research team A 3D map of the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was already created in March. “But at that time there was no great need for coronavirus treatment. This was just basic research. Now it can potentially have some translational effects.”
Llamas and other camelids produce different types of antibodies to humans, and a particular type is only a quarter the size of the antibodies seen in humans. This is an advantage that researchers believe to take into account because it can be nebulized and used in inhalers.
Regardless of the early success of the study – and the positive behavior of Winter the Lama – this does not mean that the antibodies are immediately useful as a preventive or remedy.
The team from the University of Texas at Austin is now aiming for preclinical studies in animals such as hamsters or non-human primates, with the aim of developing a treatment for humans.
In any case, there is nothing to spit.
