An antibody first identified in a blood sample from someone who recovered from SARS in 2003 inhibits related coronaviruses, including one behind COVID-19, researchers say.<\/p>\n
Researchers have put the antibody, called S309, on a fast-track development and testing path at Vir Biotechnology in the next step toward possible clinical trials.<\/p>\n
“We still need to show that this antibody<\/a> is protective in living systems, which has not yet been done,” says David Veesler, assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine and co-senior author of the paper in Nature<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n
Veesler says his lab is not the only one seeking neutralizing antibodies for COVID 19 treatment. What makes this antibody different is that its search did not take place in people who had COVID-19, but in someone infected 17 years ago during a SARS epidemic.<\/p>\n
“This is what allowed us to move so fast compared to other groups,” Veesler says.<\/p>\n
Veesler and colleagues identified several monoclonal antibodies of interest from memory B cells of the SARS survivor. The lineage of memory B cells form following an infectious illness and their lineage can last, sometimes for life. They usually remember a pathogen, or one similar to it, that the body has ousted in the past, and launch an antibody defense against a re-infection.<\/p>\n
Several of the antibodies from the SARS survivor’s memory B cells are directed at a protein structure on coronavirus. This structure is critical to the coronaviruses’ ability to recognize a receptor on a cell, fuse to it, and inject their genetic material into the cell. This infectivity machinery is located in the spikes that crown the coronavirus<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The S309 antibody shows particular potency at targeting and disabling the spike protein that promotes the coronavirus entry into cells. To neutralize SARS CoV-2, it engaged with a section of the spike protein<\/a> nearby the attachment site to the host cell.<\/p>\n
This multiple antibody cocktail<\/a> approach might help limit the coronavirus’ ability to form mutants capable of escaping a single-ingredient antibody treatment, the researchers say.<\/p>\n
Source: <\/em>University of Washington<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"