
via University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Today in Science, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine describe a new method to extract tiny but extremely powerful SARS-CoV-2 antibody fragments from llamas, which could be fashioned into inhalable therapeutics with the potential to prevent and treat COVID-19.
These special llama antibodies, called “nanobodies,” are much smaller than human antibodies and many times more effective at neutralizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They’re also much more stable.
“Nature is our best inventor,” said senior author Yi Shi, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology at Pitt. “The technology we developed surveys SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing nanobodies at an unprecedented scale, which allowed us to quickly discover thousands of nanobodies with unrivaled affinity and specificity.”
To generate these nanobodies, Shi turned to a black llama named Wally—who resembles and therefore shares his moniker with Shi’s black Labrador.
Shi and colleagues immunized the llama with a piece of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and, after about two months, the animal’s immune system produced mature nanobodies against the virus.
Using a mass spectrometry-based technique that Shi has been perfecting for the past three years, lead author Yufei Xiang, a research assistant in Shi’s lab, identified the nanobodies in Wally’s blood that bind to SARS-CoV-2 most strongly.
Then, with the help of Pitt’s Center for Vaccine Research (CVR), the scientists exposed their nanobodies to live SARS-CoV-2 virus and found that just a fraction of a nanogram could neutralize enough virus to spare a million cells from being infected.
These nanobodies represent some of the most effective therapeutic antibody candidates for SARS-CoV-2, hundreds to thousands of times more effective than other llama nanobodies discovered through the same phage display methods used for decades to fish for human monoclonal antibodies.
Shi’s nanobodies can sit at room temperature for six weeks and tolerate being fashioned into an inhalable mist to deliver antiviral therapy directly into the lungs where they’re most needed. Since SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus, the nanobodies could find and latch onto it in the respiratory system, before it even has a chance to do damage.
In contrast, traditional SARS-CoV-2 antibodies require an IV, which dilutes the product throughout the body, necessitating a much larger dose and costing patients and insurers around $100,000 per treatment course.
“Nanobodies could potentially cost much less,” said Shi. “They’re ideal for addressing the urgency and magnitude of the current crisis.”
In collaboration with Cheng Zhang, Ph.D., at Pitt, and Dina Schneidman-Duhovny, Ph.D., at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the team found that their nanobodies use a variety of mechanisms to block SARS-CoV-2 infection. This makes nanobodies ripe for bioengineering. For instance, nanobodies that bind to different regions on the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be linked together, like a Swiss army knife, in case one part of the virus mutates and becomes drug-resistant.
“As a virologist, it’s incredible to see how harnessing the quirkiness of llama antibody generation can be translated into the creation of a potent nanoweapon against clinical isolates of SARS-CoV-2,” said study coauthor and CVR Director Paul Duprex, Ph.D.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Llama nanobodies
- A COVID-19 treatment candidate that fuses tiny antibodies from llamas and alpacas shows promiseon January 13, 2021 at 5:57 am
Scientists from the University of Bonn, the Karolinska Institutet and Scripps Research Institute have designed a COVID-19 treatment by fusing "nanobodies" from a llama and an alpaca. In lab ...
- Scientists highlight potency of mini antibodies against COVID-19on January 9, 2021 at 2:52 pm
The study led by researchers from National Institutes of Health have highlighted the effectiveness of 'nanobodies' produced by a llama named Cormac in preventing infections and detecting virus ...
- potency of nanobodies against COVID-19on January 9, 2021 at 11:09 am
The study led by researchers from National Institutes of Health have highlighted the effectiveness of nanobodies produced by a llama named Cormac in preventin ...
- Scientists highlight potency of mini antibodies against COVID-19on January 9, 2021 at 10:26 am
The study led by researchers from National Institutes of Health have highlighted the effectiveness of 'nanobodies' produced by a llama named Cormac in preventing infections and detecting virus ...
- Llama spells drama for COVID-19on January 5, 2021 at 11:21 am
BY SARAH MARSHALL, UNIFORMED SERVICES UNIVERSITY Researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences recently identified pint-sized antibodies, or "nanobodies," that could protect ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Llama nanobodies
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Inhalable therapeutics to prevent and treat COVID-19
- Cyxone reports first Covid-19 patient screened in Phase 2 clinical trial of Rabeximodon January 15, 2021 at 4:22 am
PRNewswire/ -- Cyxone (publ.) announced today that the first patient has been screened in the Phase 2 clinical trial of Rabeximod in Covid-19. The trial ...
- US officials urge Americans to ask their doctors about monoclonal antibodies for COVID. But is it too little, too late?on January 14, 2021 at 6:04 pm
Operation Warp Speed says more than a half-million doses of monoclonal antibodies have been shipped to more than 3,700 locations in the US.
- Multiple Factors Hinder Uptake of Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics for COVID-19on January 14, 2021 at 1:47 pm
The US Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, MD, and other officials urged for greater uptake of FDA-approved treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in an effort to slow the surge of ...
- Ampio enrolling patients for inhalable COVID-19 Phase I trialon January 14, 2021 at 9:24 am
The immunotherapy-focused firm reports enrollment stands at 55% for its ongoing study exploring viability of Ampion as an inhalable COVID-19 treatment.
- Researchers receive $5.1 million to expand clinical trial of drug to prevent ARDS in COVID-19 patientson January 13, 2021 at 5:52 pm
Researchers evaluating whether an investigational oral drug, vadadustat, can help prevent acute respiratory distress s to expand the Phase II clinical trial at The University of Texas Health Science ...