A Swedish team isolated an antibody, the so-called a nanobody that inactivates the SARS-CoV-2 virus protein necessary for it to penetrate the cells. According to the researchers, the antibody can be used to develop an effective therapy.
Scientists have isolated an antibody against COVID-19
In the pages of the journal Nature Communications, scientists from the Karolinska Institute described a promising discovery that could help in the fight against the coronavirus. They managed to isolate a small antibody that attacks the spike protein, through which the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus attaches to ACE2 receptors on cells and penetrates them.
“We hope our results will help manage the pandemic by conducting further research on this nanobody as a candidate drug to fight infection,” says co-author of the publication, Prof. Gerald McInerney.
Scientists injected an alpaca (an animal of the camelid family) with the coronavirus spike protein. After 60 days, the animal had developed a strong immune response in its blood. Among the various nanobodies produced by alpaca lymphocytes, researchers have isolated one (Ty) that effectively neutralizes the virus. The name comes from the name of the alpaca – Tyson.
Nanobody from alpaca
“With the help of cryo-electron microscopy, we were able to see how the nanobody attaches to the viral spike protein on the epitope that fits the ACE2 receptor. This allowed us to have a structural understanding of the strong neutralizing activity, »says lead author of the study, Dr Leo Hanke.
Nanobodies, the researchers explain, have a number of advantages over conventional antibodies. They are more than 10 times smaller than them and usually easier to produce on a large scale. Moreover, with the current technology, they are adaptable for human use and have already shown therapeutic effects on viral respiratory infections.
“Our results show that Ty1 can bind strongly to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and neutralize the virus with no detectable side activity. We are now starting preclinical animal studies to test the neutralizing therapeutic potential in vivo »- emphasizes one of the authors of the discovery, Prof. Ben Murrell.
The Ty1 sequence is available in the article and will also be entered in NCBI GenBank under the code MT784731.
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