A new ‘wild card’ antibody, potentially effective against a wide variety of Coronavirus. From the Sars-CoV-2 of Covid-19, variants included, to the Sars-CoV-1 of the Sars, the severe acute respiratory syndrome that became a worldwide epidemic between 2002 and 2004, up to hypothetical ‘Sars-CoV-3’ and ‘Sars-CoV-4’ which may appear in the future. The hope of a ‘universal’ weapon, to be used in therapy and prevention, comes from an American study published in ‘Science Translational Medicine’. The result of a collaboration between researchers from Duke University in Durham and the University of North Carolina (Unc) in Chapel Hill, the project is supported by various US organizations including the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid, Nih), as well as by the Department of Defense.
The antibody was identified by a team from the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (Dhvi) and tested on animal models at Unc in Chapel Hill. To isolate him, the group of Barton Haynes, director of Dhvi, analyzed the blood of a Covid patient and of one who had been infected with the SARS-CoV-1 virus. Out of a total of over 1,700 antibodies identified, scientists found 50 capable of binding to both the Sars and Covid viruses. Among these, one seemed particularly powerful, capable of also hooking several other animal coronaviruses. Tested by the Unc team of Ralph S. Baric, the selected antibody was able to both counteract the infection once it occurred and minimize the number of infections.
“This antibody binds to the Coronavirus in a conserved position through numerous mutations and variations – underlines Haynes -. Consequently it can neutralize a wide range of these microorganisms”, present and future, that is, not yet ‘skipped’ from animal to man.
“The results – Baric hopes – provide a model for the rational design of universal vaccination strategies, which are variant-proof and provide broad protection from known and emerging coronaviruses”.
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