Corona Virus: Llama Immunotherapy Has A Lot Of Potential.
Key Sentence:
- The Covid therapy, which comes from a llama named Fifi, showed “significant potential” in early studies.
- This treatment uses “nanobodies,” smaller, simpler versions of antibodies that llamas and camels naturally produce in response to infection.
After the therapy was tested in humans, scientists Llama Immunotherapy said it could be used as a regular nasal spray – to treat also even prevent early infections.
Professor James Naismith described the nanobodies as “very interesting.” Llama Immunotherapy Prof. Naismith, the senior researcher and director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute in Oxfordshire. Said that the coronavirus-infected rodents treated with the nanobody nasal spray made a full recovery within six days.
This natural ability to fight COVID comes from the power of the nanobodies attached to the virus.
Like our own antibodies, virus-specific nanobodies capture and attach to viruses and bacteria entering our bodies. This compound essentially flags the invading virus with a “red flag” of the immune system so that the rest of the body’s immune arsenal can attack it for destruction. “We got help from Fifi, the Old Franklin [Institute],” said Professor Naismith.
By vaccinating Fifi with a small piece of a non-infectious viral protein. The researchers stimulated their immune system to produce a particular molecule. The scientists then carefully removed and purified the strongest nanobody from Fifi’s blood sample; that best fits a viral protein, such as a key that best fits a particular lock.
The team then managed to grow a large number of specially selected most potent molecules.
Professor Shina Cruikshank, an immunologist at the University of Manchester. Said the new developments were “interesting but still quite early.” “We need more data on efficacy also safety before we proceed to test in humans,” he added. “However, it shows great hope, and the fact that it can be cheaper and easier to manage is a plus.
Professor Naismith and his staff, who published their research in the journal Nature Communications. Agree that despite the success of a Covid vaccine, effective treatment will be crucial in the future. “The rest of the world is not vaccinated to the same extent,” he said, “and the risk remains that new options will emerge that can bypass immunity.”