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Researchers reported in the journal Cell on Monday, September 14, that Ab8 is very effective in treating and preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in studies in mice and hamsters, according to scitechdaily.com. Due to its molecular size, not only can it spread better in tissues and neutralize the virus more effectively, but it also allows the drug to be administered by alternative routes, including inhalation. It is important to mention that this molecule does not bind to human cells and therefore should not cause any negative side effects.
The Ab8 was rated by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Texas School of Medicine at Galveston, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Saskatchewan.
“Ab8 may not only be a potential cure for COVID-19, but it also prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection in general,” said one of the study’s authors, Dr. John Mellors, Head of the Department of Diseases. Infectious, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. – Higher antibodies have helped fight other infectious diseases and are well tolerated by the human body. We hope that Ab8 will be an effective drug for patients with COVID-19 and help protect those who have not had this infection and who do not have immunity.
A tiny component of an antibody is an immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region found in the blood. It was detected checking more than 100 billion. Potential candidates using the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. A molecule is created when a heavy chain region joins a part of the ‘tail’ region of an immunoglobulin. The new derivative has full-size antibody properties, but is much smaller.
Abound Bio, a start-up company backed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, has been licensed to manufacture Ab8 for the global market.
Dr. Dimiter Dimitrov, lead author of an article in the journal Cell and director of the Pittsburgh Center for Antibody Therapy, was one of the first to discover neutralizing antibodies to the SARS coronavirus in 2003. Subsequently, his team discovered effective antibodies that cause an immune response in many other infectious diseases, including those caused by ARRS-CoV, dengue, Hendros, and Nipos viruses. The efficacy of antibodies against Hendra and Nipa viruses has been tested in humans and confirmed for experimental clinical use in Australia.
Previous clinical trials have looked at the efficacy of plasma in patients recovering from COVID-19 in treating this infection, but to date there is no strong evidence and plasma would not be sufficient in all infected individuals.
That is why dr. D. Dimitrov and his team set the goal of isolating the gene for one or more antibodies that block the SARS-CoV-2 virus that could be mass produced. In February, dr. Wei Li, deputy director of the Pittsburgh Center for Antibody Therapy and one of the study’s authors, began reviewing an extensive list of antibody ingredients made from human blood samples and quickly found several potential candidates, including Ab8.
Then a team of scientists consisting of staff from the Center for Biological Defense and Emerging Diseases at the University of Texas School of Medicine and Galveston National Laboratory, led by Dr. Chien-Te Kent Tseng, conducted tests on Ab8 using the live SARS-CoV-2 virus.
At very low concentrations, Ab8 completely prevented the coronavirus from entering cells. After knowing these results, dr. Ralph Barric and his colleagues at the University of North Carolina tested various concentrations of Ab8 in mice infected with a modified version of SARS-CoV-2. Even at the lowest dose, Ab8 reduced the amount of infectious virus tenfold in mice compared to mice that did not receive the antibody. Ab8 was also very effective in treating SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters and protecting healthy animals from the pathogen, said Dr. Darrylas Falzarano, who conducted research with colleagues from the University of Saskatchewan.
For his part, dr. Sriram Subramaniam and his colleagues have discovered the unique way Ab8 neutralizes the virus so effectively using sophisticated electron microscopes.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge for people around the world, but biomedical science and human intelligence should overcome it,” said Dr. J. Mellors. “We hope that the antibodies we discover will contribute to the triumph of humanity against this disease.”
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