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Researchers have identified a human monoclonal antibody capable of preventing the SARS-CoV-2 virus from infecting cells, which could be a first step toward treatment against Covid-19, the journal Nature Communications said Monday.
The work was carried out by researchers at the University of Utrecht, the Erasmus and Harbor BioMed Medical Center (HBM), in the Netherlands, and continued the steps taken in the investigation against the outbreak of the first coronavirus (SARS-CoV), which occurred in Asia between 2002 and 2003.
“Using this collection of antibodies against SARS-CoV, we identified an antibody that also neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 infection in cultured cells. This neutralizing antibody has the potential to alter the course of infection in the infected host, supporting removing the virus or protecting an individual who is not infected but who is exposed to the virus, “said researcher Berend-Jan Bosch of the University of Utrecht, by Nature Communications.
According to the scientist, this antibody has the ability to bind to a domain that is conserved in the two coronavirus strains, which explains its neutralizing action in both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid- 19)
This cross-neutralizing characteristic of the antibody is very interesting and suggests that it may have the potential to mitigate future coronavirus-related illnesses, ”added Berend-Jan Bosch.
Researcher Frank Grosveld noted that the antibody used is “completely human” and provides “a solid basis for further research”, with a view to characterizing the identified antibody and developing “possible treatments for covid-19”.
HBM President Jingsong Wang said more work is needed to determine if this antibody could protect or reduce the severity of the disease in humans. Although he left “other avenues of investigation” open, Jingsong Wang did not fail to express confidence in the technology to “help respond to this urgent public health need.”
The disease is transmitted by a new coronavirus detected in late December in Wuhan, a city in central China.
Globally, according to a report by the AFP news agency, the Covid-19 pandemic has already claimed more than 247,000 deaths and infected more than 3.5 million people in 195 countries and territories. More than a million patients have already been cured.
