Corona: Researchers discover antibodies against all virus variants
Created: 08/01/2022, 12:00 p.m
By: Judith Brown
Researchers from the USA made a breakthrough in a new study: they found an antibody that could work against all corona variants.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the world has been dealing with the then new type of corona virus, which is constantly changing and thus posing challenges for doctors and scientists.
The omicron variant is currently spreading and, despite the summer months, is also causing high numbers of infections in Germany.
In order to prevent a severe course of Covid-19, high-risk patients are often prescribed antibody drugs as a precaution.
However, if the virus mutates, this can limit the effectiveness of preparations and vaccinations.
Scientists have therefore been looking for antibodies that protect against all virus variants for some time.
A research team from the USA could now have succeeded.
Corona: Researchers discover antibodies against all virus variants
Scientists discover antibodies that could protect against all corona variants.
© Andrew Brookes/IMAGO
In order to escape the body's immune response, the coronavirus mutates and thus changes its properties again and again.
This makes it more difficult for the antibodies already formed as a result of vaccination or infection to prevent infection with the virus.
They usually only work against certain types of the corona virus.
Scientists from the University of Alabama at Birningham could finally have made a breakthrough with their study published in the journal "Plos Pathogens".
The researchers analyzed the blood of former patients who had contracted Sars-CoV-2.
Out of 17 different antibodies discovered, four antibodies managed to neutralize the coronavirus, including several variants.
The “1249A8” antibody did this particularly well.
As they found, it works on all variants of Sars-CoV-2, other beta coronaviruses such as Sars-CoV and Mers-CoV, and cold viruses.
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Corona: Antibody "1249A8" neutralizes different virus variants
Antibodies attach to the spike protein of the coronavirus.
This is where many vaccinations and medicines come into play, because otherwise the virus would gain access to the human cells at this point.
However, it changes as a result of the mutations and antibodies tailored to it become less effective.
In contrast to other antibodies, "1249A8" binds to an unchangeable part of the protein and can thus neutralize different variants.
As the researchers found, it works even better in conjunction with the "1213H7" antibody.
In one experiment, hamsters were given combined preparations with both antibodies.
As a result, the viral load in the animals was significantly reduced.
The results of the study can be helpful in the development of universal antibody preparations.
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