Post by shahadat560 on Jan 18, 2024 8:34:15 GMT
A team from the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) is investigating how to "ultra-rapidly" produce neutralizing antibodies against the coronavirus , a project that proposes the transfer of human antibodies ready for use and generated in the laboratory through two novel methods.
On the one hand, scientists propose the modification of a human antibody neutralizing the previous SARS virus from 2002 to convert it into another that blocks the current SARS-CoV-2. On the other hand, they are working on the accelerated generation of new antibodies by recreating a "germinal center" in culture plates.
If the strategy works, it will be tested in animal models Country Email List and subsequent clinical trials with patients , with the ultimate goal of producing antiviral drugs based on these antibodies on an industrial scale, as happens in immunotherapy treatments against cancer.
The goal is to produce antiviral drugs based on these antibodies
Unlike other antivirals, antibodies have specificity for the pathogen, have no side effects and are long-lasting: a single dose can be effective for days or weeks without having to be applied several times a day or every day, according to these sources.
The team of researchers led by immunologist Balbino Alarcón, from the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (CBMSO, a joint center of the CSIC and the Autonomous University of Madrid), has successfully used the first of these methods to generate neutralizing antibodies. One of them, called H5L5, blocks the entry of the virus into human cells by 30%.
"For the virus to enter the cell, the S protein of its envelope must bind to the cellular protein ACE2," explains Alarcón, who adds that the success of vaccines depends on the generation of antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins, capable of binding. and block the virus before it penetrates cells.
On the one hand, scientists propose the modification of a human antibody neutralizing the previous SARS virus from 2002 to convert it into another that blocks the current SARS-CoV-2. On the other hand, they are working on the accelerated generation of new antibodies by recreating a "germinal center" in culture plates.
If the strategy works, it will be tested in animal models Country Email List and subsequent clinical trials with patients , with the ultimate goal of producing antiviral drugs based on these antibodies on an industrial scale, as happens in immunotherapy treatments against cancer.
The goal is to produce antiviral drugs based on these antibodies
Unlike other antivirals, antibodies have specificity for the pathogen, have no side effects and are long-lasting: a single dose can be effective for days or weeks without having to be applied several times a day or every day, according to these sources.
The team of researchers led by immunologist Balbino Alarcón, from the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (CBMSO, a joint center of the CSIC and the Autonomous University of Madrid), has successfully used the first of these methods to generate neutralizing antibodies. One of them, called H5L5, blocks the entry of the virus into human cells by 30%.
"For the virus to enter the cell, the S protein of its envelope must bind to the cellular protein ACE2," explains Alarcón, who adds that the success of vaccines depends on the generation of antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins, capable of binding. and block the virus before it penetrates cells.