Scientists identify antibodies capable of protecting against Covid-19
Scientists have identified an antibody found in the human body that can prevent or limit the SARS COV-2 infection responsible for Covid-19. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) in the US have detected human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) reacting against the SARS-COV-2 spike protein that binds the mucosal (membrane surrounding the body’s internal organs) of the respiratory system. On tissues, ACE2 prevents the virus from binding on the receptor.
Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies that are made by similar immune cells and all these cells are clones of a specific stem cell. According to the study, this rapid and important discovery originated 16 years ago when researchers at UMMS developed IgG monoclonal antibodies that were effective against a similar virus, SARS.
When the SARS-COV-2 virus was identified and began to spread, researchers realized that the first mAb could also help with this new infection. Researchers began the process of reviving the old SARS program, recovering and melting the frozen cells that had been developed 16 years earlier.
It began to determine whether the function of one novel corona virus worked for another. They stated that even though the two corona viruses have up to 90 percent similarity, monoclonal antibodies have shown no ability to bind to the corona virus present. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.
