Highly Effective Covid-19 Antibodies Identified By Researchers
Scientists have come up with the possibility of developing a passive vaccination for the COVID-19 infection as they identified highly effective antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a study, published in the journal Cell.
Almost 600 different antibodies were isolated from the blood of individuals who had over the COVID-19 infection by scientists at the Charite – Universitatsmedizin Berlin and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). The researchers were able to identify some antibodies that were specifically successful at binding to the virus using laboratory tests. Then, they used cell cultures, and artificially produced these antibodies.
The crystallographic analysis revealed that the so-called neutralizing antibodies stop the entry of the pathogen into the cells and stop it from reproducing by binding to the virus. Furthermore, immune cells can eliminate the pathogen with the help of virus recognition by antibodies.
The high efficacy of the selected antibodies was confirmed by the studies conducted on hamsters. The coordinator of the research project, Jakob Kreye said that mild disease symptoms were observed to be developed in the hamsters if the antibodies were given after infection and the animals did not get sick if the antibodies
were applied before infection.The approach of treating infectious diseases with antibodies has been used previously in many cases and it is also being examined for COVID-19 through the administration of plasma-derived from recovered patients’ blood. In plasma-derived therapy, the donors’ antibodies are transferred along with the plasma.
The first author of the research, Momsen Reincke said, “Generally, the most successful antibody is generated in a controlled manner in constant quality on an industrial scale and this is the goal we are going after.”
A senior physician at Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin, and a research group leader at the DZNE, Harald Pruss explained that three of their antibodies are particularly promising for clinical development. He said that they have begun developing a passive vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 using these antibodies.
The researchers said that a potential application of these antibodies apart from using them for treating patients, it can also be used for healthy individuals coming in contact with infected persons as preventive protection. They said that clinical studies are needed to investigate how long the protection can last because passive vaccination, unlike inactive vaccination, includes the management of ready-made antibodies, which after some time gets broken down.
Nonetheless, according to the researchers, an active vaccination it has to build up first, whereas the effect of a passive vaccination is almost immediate. Pruss added saying that depending on the situation, it would be best to make a flexible response if both options were available.
Source
Highly Effective Covid-19 Antibodies Identified By Researchers
