Single-domain antibodies – also known as a nano bodies – are antibody fragments able to bind to particular antigens. Moreover, they are easily separated out in laboratories for culturing under controlled circumstances in large quantities. Now researchers at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have developed a novel COVID treatment using llama nano bodies.
2015 Nudge for COVID Treatment Using Llama Nano Bodies
U.S. National Library of Medicine reported members of the camel family are suitable platforms for developing therapeutic antibodies back in 2015. But that research took place against the backdrop of an even earlier 1993 finding. This also found untapped potential among members of the camel family for viral research.
University of Pittsburgh built on these findings by immunizing a llama with a piece of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The animal produced mature nano bodies against the virus within two months.
The team says llama antibodies have ‘potential to prevent and treat COVID-19’. They are also many times more effective than their human counterparts. Moreover, they have developed a mass spectrometry-based technique able to produce a million antibodies from a nanogram of material.
More Potentially Remarkable Benefits from Llama Nano Bodies
The single-domain antibodies that lead author Yufei Xiang and his team present, are thus a robust, practical contribution. That’s because they can survive at room temperature for six weeks. And can tolerate fashioning into an inhalable mist spray that can reach deep into the lungs.
‘Our potential COVID treatment using llama nano bodies could be ‘ideal for addressing the urgency and magnitude of the current crisis,’ they say.
Pitt’s Center for Vaccine Research furthermore commented as follows. ‘It’s incredible how harnessing the quirkiness of llama antibody generation translates into the creation of a potent nano weapon.’ That’s as a potential solution we can use in our battle against the COVID-19 disease spreading across our planet.
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Preview Image: Picture of a Black Llama
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Report
2015 Research into Llama Antibody Potential
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