Could antibodies present in camels be effective in fighting Covid? Yes it seems. In this period of pandemic and racing in the field of research to identify vaccines and treatments, this discovery seems truly curious. But above all it is promising. A little antibody, Sybody 23, would be a possible weapon for the Sars Cov 2 virus. International research is added to others precisely on antibodies and of which we have spoken to you. But let's see what it is.
Syboby, published international research
The scientists of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Karolinska Institutet who worked on this research, recently published their study in the journal Nature Communications. According to the researchers, this nanoscopic "ally" could prevent the virus to interact with human cells. And above all it would seem more powerful than many other antibodies, despite being really small. "The ability of Sars-CoV-2 to infect cells - explains Dmitri Svergun of the EMBL and one of the authors of the study - it depends on the interactions between the Spike protein of the virus and the receptor of human ACE-2 cells, interactions that occur thanks to the binding domains of the receptor (RBD), of the protuberances that the 'sybodie' can block ".
The Sybody antibody is reliable precisely because they are small
Researchers have no doubts: the nanoantibodies present in camels and llamas would be very promising as weapons against viruses “thanks to their high stability and small size. Obtaining them from animals takes time, but technological advances allow us a quick selection ”. A thorough research initiated through cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structure of the bond between the virus and Sybody 23. "Sybody 23 successfully 'inactivated' virus modified in vitro - clarified Ben Murrell of the Karolinska Institutet -. Further tests will be needed to confirm whether this sybody could stop Sars-CoV-2 infection in the human body, but we are very confident. "
With this new and in some respects original discovery, a new path is opened in the treatment of the virus. In fact, nanoantibodies would have a decisive role in the development of drugs against Covid but also against other diseases. They are considered to be the basis of a new generation of therapeutic molecules. "Thanks to their small size and particular structure - says Giuseppe Novelli, geneticist at the University of Rome Tor Vergata- nanobodies are ideal building blocks for the generation of new biological drugs with multiple competitive advantages over other therapeutic molecules ".
Nanoantibodies, fragments of antibodies, are formed in camelids. Hence animals of the family of camels and llamas. According to the latest research carried out, one of these antibodies could be used by inhalation for Covid. In prevention and treatment. Another experiment that bodes well to fight the pandemic.
