Good news from scientists: the laboratory has developed antibodies that can become a cure for coronavirus

Until now only tested in the laboratory

Aurelija Žvirblienė, professor and immunologist at the Vilna University Life Science Center (VU), said that one of the most important factors in the body’s repeated exposure to infection is the amount of antibodies that are formed in the body and that they can protect against the virus.

“Antibodies form in our bodies, and there is a lot of talk now about whether or not they will form during an infection, whether they will block the virus or not.” You need to have antibodies that block the virus, in other words, neutralize and stop it so that the virus does not infect new cells, ”explained the VU professor.

Antibodies can form in each of our bodies after infection, but they can also develop in the laboratory.

“These antibodies were developed using so-called hybridoma technology. We also use this technology in our laboratory to develop a variety of antibodies for diagnostic purposes, including those that fight viruses. We immunize with the antigens of viruses that fight antibodies, we immunize experimental mice, we use their cells. And then we create monoclonal antibodies using hybridoma technology, we describe them. All this is possible in the laboratory and obtain antibodies in practically unlimited quantities, “said Professor. A. Žvirblienė.

According to the interviewee, the Dutch researchers developed antibodies in the laboratory of the Erasmus Medical Center using transgenic mice that contain human immunoglobulin variable domain gene sequences. This means that the human immunoglobulin (antibody) genes were loaded into these mice. This scientific article was published in a magazine. Nature’s Communications.

“If such technologies were applied to simple mice, they would produce mouse antibodies.” They would not be suitable for human treatment because they would be accepted as foreign proteins and would not work, “said the professor.

Therefore, in this study, the researchers developed human antibodies using transgenic mice, and developed experimental antibodies against the coronavirus using hybridoma technology. The antibodies produced in transgenic mice are similar to those in humans and may be suitable for the treatment of coronavirus infection.

“Antibodies are molecules that bind very precisely to the antigen they are designed to fight against. And in this case, that antigen is a viral protein (protein S) through which the virus enters our cells. This means that if we have an antibody molecule that blocks this viral protein and at the same time prevents the virus from entering our cells and multiplying, it can no longer infect new cells, “said the interlocutor.

Medications should not be expected soon

If the scientists were successful in this experiment, it might be possible to develop a biopharmaceutical, which means antibodies that would prevent the virus from entering our cells.

“But for now, it is just an investigation, there would be a long way to go to the final product, because we still have to complete development, testing, clinical trials, etc. t. However, this is a way that could help to control the infection, ”said a VU professor.

Like prof. R. Žvirblienė, these antibodies created in the laboratory are an imitation of what should be in the body of a sick person.

“When a person has an infection, antibodies must be formed in their body to neutralize the infection. The amount of neutralizing antibodies produced in the body will determine whether we will have a chance of reinfection when we are exposed to the infection a second time. If there are many neutralizing antibodies in the body, a person will protect himself, “said Professor. A. Žvirblienė.

The success of this experiment is expected to allow the development of a biopharmaceutical product. However, this will not be possible soon.

“It’s a complicated clinical trial, you should have sick people. The studies would be done primarily on animal models, probably using monkey models to better mimic coronavirus infection. Then it would have happened to people then. But how long it would take is hard to say. “It may take less time than vaccine clinical trials, as the effect should be seen more quickly. In this case, we should not wait for the immune response to develop; the effectiveness of the treatment and the side effects should be evaluated,” he said. The teacher.

But waiting for drugs to develop in a few months is certainly not worth it. According to the interlocutor, it is definitely not months, but a year.

“When it comes to a vaccine, its technology may be less complex, it can be produced fairly quickly, but it is difficult to evaluate and test a vaccine. In this case, the biopharmaceutical antibody technology is more complex and much more expensive, and its clinical trials are different from those of vaccines. A dose of the vaccine can cost tens or hundreds of euros, and the cost of biopharmaceutical antibodies is in the thousands. There are more differences. The vaccine is used prophylactically to prevent infection, and biopharmaceutical antibodies are used for therapeutic purposes. This is another example of how the world is intensely developing technologies that can help overcome the coronavirus in the future, “said Prof. A. Žvirblienė.