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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a new antibody-type therapy for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The treatment takes advantage of “nanobodies”, tiny fragments of antibodies, which are extracted from llama blood. The new nanobody therapy can be used in an inhalable form that can inactivate the virus within the lungs.
“Nature is our best inventor,” said Yi Shi, a researcher involved in the study. “The technology we developed examines SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing nanobodies on an unprecedented scale, allowing us to rapidly discover thousands of nanobodies with unmatched affinity and specificity.”
To create the therapy, the researchers immunized a llama named Wally with a portion of the spike protein SARS-CoV-2. A couple of months later, they were able to isolate nanobodies against the peak protein from a llama blood sample and used a mass spectrometry technique to identify which nanobodies were bound to the virus.
A fraction of a nanogram of the purified nanobodies is enough to prevent the virus from infecting 1 million cells, suggesting that the new therapy could be a potent treatment for those suffering from an infection.
The nanobodies also appear to be very stable and can survive at room temperature for at least six weeks while simultaneously surviving a process to turn them into an inhalable therapeutic, which could be a useful treatment for those experiencing acute respiratory symptoms.
Targeting treatment directly to the lungs could also help reduce costs, as it will mean smaller overall doses. With traditional antibody therapies, the antibody is administered intravenously, which requires a large amount to achieve the correct concentration in the target organs, which in this case are the lungs. This leads to incredibly high costs. For example, a treatment with conventional antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 can cost up to $ 100,000 per patient. “Nanobodies could potentially cost a lot less,” Shi said. “They are ideal for addressing the urgency and magnitude of the current crisis.”
To study in Sciences: Versatile and multivalent nanobodies effectively neutralize SARS-CoV-2
Via: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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