Researchers Report on Antibody Discovery that may Block the SARS-Cov-2

• Researchers report on their work with antibody therapy as a potential cure for SARS-Cov viruses.

About the Research

Researchers from Utrecht University report on the discovery of an antibody that may help block the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, their findings are available in the journal Nature Communications.

Antibody Therapy for SARS-Cov-2

The COVID-19 pandemic spread through the world at a rapid paste and it continues to advance. The number of individuals that have SARS-Cov-2 infection is up to 3.3 million. Also, it is responsible for over 235,000 deaths so far. Furthermore, there are no vaccines for the virus so research like this one is valuable for global health.

The team from Utrecht University build their new research on the work they did earlier. That is, during the emergence of SARS-CoV they did work on antibody targeting. In this research, they were using the collection of SARS-CoV antibodies to define an antibody that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 in cultured cells.

Berend-Jan Bosch, one of the authors of the article, comments on their work with the following statement. “Such a neutralizing antibody has the potential to alter the course of infection in the infected host, support virus clearance or protect an uninfected individual that is exposed to the virus.” Furthermore, the author noted that the antibody binds to a domain present in both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.

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Limitations

Even though this is groundbreaking research the team suggests more work in the future. More precisely, they want to determine if the antibody can protect or reduce the intensity of the infection in humans. However, the researchers are optimistic and they believe they will develop the necessary technology with their partners.