Amid the growing threat from new and potentially far more dangerous SARS-CoV-2 variants, scientists are increasingly searching for more powerful and effective treatments.
The therapeutic potential of an unusual immune protein: microscopic antibodies derived from llama, called nanobodies, has now been demonstrated, according to a new study.
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Scientists Michael P. Rout and Brian T. Chait and colleagues at the Seattle Children's Research Institute have cataloged more than a hundred nanoantibodies based on their potency and ability to target different parts of the body. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
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Produced by immunized llamas, nanobodies have been shown to neutralize the original coronavirus and some of its variants, including Delta, with high effectiveness in laboratory tests experiment. Studies to evaluate their effectiveness against the new Omicron variant are ongoing. Researchers hope that a nanobody assembly can be developed into a COVID treatment that is effective against both current and future variants. “Based on how our nanobodies bind to viruses, we expect that many will remain effective, perhaps even against Omicro,” Rout said. All of the findings are published on eLife magazine. It can be said that this is the path to a new treatment method.
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Human antibodies are made up of two protein chains. But with llamas, camels and other members of the Camelidae family, antibodies consist of only one protein. To get the nanoantibodies, the researchers took blood samples from llamas that had been injected with small doses of coronavirus proteins similar to vaccines. They then sequenced DNA corresponding to the diverse nanobodies produced by the llama's immune system and expressed these genes in bacteria to create a large number of nanobodies for analysis. accumulation in the laboratory. Nanoantibodies that exhibit the desired properties are then selected and further tested to determine those most capable of neutralizing the virus.
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The microscopic size of nanoantibodies allows them to reach hard-to-reach spots on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that larger antibodies may not be able to reach. It also allows researchers to combine nano-antibodies that attack different parts of the virus.
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“One of the coolest things we observed with nanobodies is that they show extraordinary synergy,” Chait said. The synergistic effect is much greater than the sum of its individual active parts." The researchers' next plan is to test the safety and effectiveness of the nanobodies in animal studies.
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Besides being small and responsive, nanobodies are also inexpensive to mass-produce in yeast or bacteria. Furthermore, they are very stable. These molecules are able to withstand high temperatures and long storage times, which promises them the potential to be developed into a drug that can be used in a variety of environmental conditions worldwide.
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Translator: Ngoc Anh - Phacogen Institute of Technology;
(Master in Experimental Biology. University of Natural Sciences - Hanoi National University)
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Referral:
Jean Paul Olivier, Erica Y Jacobs, Junjie Wang, Natalia E Ketaren, Peter C Fridy, Fred D Mast, Tanmoy Sanyal, Kelly R Molloy, Fabian Schmidt, Magdalena Rutkowska, Yiska Weisblum, Lucille M Rich, Elizabeth R Vanderwall, Nicholas Dambrauskas, Vladimir Vigdorovich, Sarah Keegan, Jacob B Jiler, Milana E Stein, Paul Dominic B Olinares, Louis Herlands, Theodora Hatziioannou, D Noah Sather, Jason S Debley, David Fenyö, Andrej Sali, Paul D Bieniasz, John D Aitchison, Brian T Chait, Michael P Rout. Highly synergistic combinations of nanobodies that target SARS-CoV-2 and are resistant to escape. eLife, 2021; 10 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.73027
Source of article:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211207102009.htm
