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An international task force led by the University of Washington, which was also attended by Massimo Galli, Agostino Riva and Arianna Gabrieli from the Sacco Hospital in Milan, discovered two superantibodies that block the entry of coronavirus into cells: they act with slightly different mechanisms and if administered in small doses, individually or together, succeed in preventing infection in hamsters. The result, which could pave the way for new therapies based on antibody cocktails (possibly also useful against mutant viruses), was published in the scientific journal. Sciences.
How they work
Massimo Galli, director of the department of Infectious Diseases at the Sacco hospital in Milan, said that the two candidates, called S2E12 and S2M11, are very promising and that they have been selected by reviewing 800 antibodies isolated from 12 patients recovered from the infection. Its mechanism of action has been studied at the molecular level thanks to the super cryoelectronic microscope. The two neutralizing antibodies prevent the virus from attacking the host cell’s Ace2 receptors that are used to penetrate the interior. The S2M11 antibody, in particular, also manages to block the famous Spike protein that the virus uses as a key to enter the cell, effectively preventing infection. In addition to neutralizing the virus, the antibodies also appear to promote the reaction of specific immune cells that fight infection, helping them to eliminate the enemy. Our results pave the way for the refinement of antibody cocktails for prophylaxis or therapy. They are an evolution of plasma therapy. There are at least two others in the world, but these are two more and given their therapeutic potential they could be reproduced on a large scale. They would be an evolution of plasma therapy.
The race for therapies awaiting the vaccine
It is important that all this work of neutralizing antibodies is being done, said Guido Silvestri, a virologist at theEmory University from Atlanta -. In my opinion, they have a very high possibility of working both at a therapeutic level, especially if administered at the onset of symptoms, and even at a preventive level. It is not unthinkable, pending a vaccine, that they can be used as a prophylactic tool in subjects at risk. The discovery, for now tested in an animal model, is important and fits in the wake of numerous international studies attempting to identify neutralizing antibodies. as therapy and as prevention infection while waiting for the vaccine. The effort to find a huge cure around the world, but, Among all the drugs tested, currently only three have proven to be really effective and safe (we talked about it who): remdesivir, dexamethasone (with a favorable opinion from the European Medicines Agency) ed enoxaparin. In Italy, the Medicines Agency (Aifa) has authorized 45 clinical trials, most of them still ongoing, but which in many cases have produced disappointing preliminary results.
October 1, 2020 (change October 1, 2020 | 10:44)
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