Lamb antibodies analyzed in a lab in Jerusalem alone can be replicated and coronavirus can help “millions” of patients, scientists say.
Dina Snedman-Dahovni of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has examined the properties of dozens of antibodies from a lama named Vally Lee and identified the ones that would best fight coronavirus in humans.
Excellent candidates with live coronavirus and human cells in its U.S. Has been tested in vitro by located allies, and appears to have a significant reduction in the virus’s ability to infect cells.
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As lama antibodies are much smaller than human antibodies – they are often referred to as “nanobodies” – they are easier and cheaper to synthesize. The researchers say they do not need to be taken intravenously, unlike human antibodies, and can be dosed by an inhaler, which has already been developed for clinical trials.
“They are very strong,” Schneidman-Duhovny told the Times of Israel. Nanobodies are expected to help millions of patients. “Antibodies stick to the virus and only act like glue. Antibodies are also very specific, the novel targeting the coronavirus very precisely. ”
Meli Wally Lalama at home on a farm in Massachusetts. (Courtesy of Dina Sneidman-Duhov)
He added: “Unlike the types of antibodies that are currently available, such as those given to Donald Trump, this can be made very easily and cheaply.” She explained that this is because they can be produced in microorganisms, requiring a more complex process than others.
The computational biologist Sneadman-Downey is part of a team led by the University of Pittsburgh, which is based in the U.S. Analyzes DNA data on antibodies provided by based colleagues and builds models for assessments that prove effective against coronavirus.
Antibody therapy for novel coronaviruses is not a new idea, nor is it a concept to source them from animals. Early in the epidemic, antibodies from recovered patients have been administered, and now there are cocktails of synthetic antibodies, such as those based on human and animal antibodies, which were famously given to Trump.
Dina Snydman-Duhovni (Courtesy of Dina Snydman-Dahohoni)
But Sneadman-Dahohoni said that given his opinion through in vitro performance, his team’s antibodies are more effective than anything seen to date – including a second attempt with lalamas, which has not yet led to therapeutic production.
Her research, which has just been peer-reviewed and published in the journal Science, focuses on the possibility of synthetically producing antibodies based on people living on a Massachusetts farm.
His team injected Wali with a piece of coronavirus spike protein. About two months later, the animal’s immune system produced mature antibodies, which were replicated and replicated.
Schneidman-Dahoven said she was “excited” by her team’s antibodies, which she said would soon be engineered in spray format and submitted for clinical testing.
Lalama was already working on antibodies with her colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh when the epidemic began. It was too long before they heard about the coronavirus novel – they were paying attention to the general possibility of regenerating antibodies to humans.
His main collaborator, Yi Shi, an assistant professor of cell biology in Pittsburgh, was nervous about focusing on COVID-19.
The red antibodies, found in purple, are attached to the spike of the novel coronavirus, which is found in gray and pink. (Courtesy of Dina Sneidman-Duhov)
“He was hesitant because this is a very competitive field, and we’re both very early in our careers, but I said the epidemic is out of control and we should really do what we can,” Schneidman-Dowhen recalled. ” Both researchers are in their 40s and neither is their tenure.
During the zoom call, Schneidman-Duhov assured him that he would jump in and focus on the coronavirus, and at a press conference last week he praised the antibodies as “ideal for addressing the urgency and severity of the current crisis.”
During the press conference, Paul Duprex, director of the Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research, outlined the process – and his optimism. “We mixed a minimal amount of nanobodies with a live virus from a patient in Muni., And we added a few drops of that solution to the plate of cells,” he said.
“Finally, a few days later, we measured how well those nanobodies inactivated the virus and how many cells survived. What we found was really remarkable, that only a small fraction of the nanobodies could neutralize enough SARS-Cove-2 particles to protect millions of cells. It is very effective compared to other antibody therapies. “
Cyril Cohen, head of the Immunotherapy Laboratory at Bar-Ilan University, who is not part of the Lala team, told the Times of Israel that he considered the research “very interesting” and noted that a product based on Lama antibodies had already been approved. And used for rare blood disorders.
He said of the new coronavirus research: “On the plus side, these are very stable antibodies and even smaller so their shelf life is longer than regular antibodies. They can act biologically at lower doses so that in terms of product, you don’t have to produce enormous amounts, so you can use smaller doses. “
He added: “The potential problem is that these are not human antibodies, meaning that although they are small and easy to build, when injected into the body they can trigger a patient’s immune response that will ‘attack’ and ‘reject’. These antibodies. “
