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Antibody blocking coronavirus from infecting cells identified in a promising step toward treating disease

The research builds on the work scientists have done in the past on antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV that emerged in 2002-2003
UPDATED MAY 5, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Scientists have found an antibody that prevents SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, from infecting cells. The discovery is an initial but promising step toward developing a fully human antibody to treat or prevent Covid-19, say experts.

The research builds on past work that the experts have done on antibodies targeting the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), which emerged in 2002-2003. Using this collection of SARS-CoV antibodies, the research team identified an antibody that also neutralizes infection of SARS-CoV-2 in cultured cells.

Such a neutralizing antibody has potential to change the course of infection in the infected host, support virus clearance or protect an uninfected individual that is exposed to the virus, say experts from Utrecht University, Erasmus Medical Center, and Harbour BioMed (HBM), all located in the Netherlands, and University of Veterinary Medicine, Germany.

One way the body's immune system attacks foreign substances is by making large numbers of antibodies. What the researchers created is a fully human monoclonal antibody — man-made proteins that act like human antibodies in the immune system — that blocks infection by the novel coronavirus in cultured cells.

"Presently, no approved targeted therapeutics are available for COVID-19. Monoclonal antibodies targeting vulnerable sites on viral surface proteins are increasingly recognized as a promising class of drugs against infectious diseases and have shown therapeutic efficacy for a number of viruses," say researchers.

In the current research, the antibody known as 47D11 targets the spike protein that gives the new coronavirus a crown-like shape and lets it enter human cells. The antibody binds to a domain that is conserved in both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, explaining its ability to neutralize both viruses.

According to researchers, this cross-neutralizing feature of the antibody is very interesting and suggests it may have the potential in the mitigation of diseases caused by future-emerging related coronaviruses.

"This is the first report of a (human) monoclonal antibody that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2. 47D11 binds a conserved epitope on the spike RBD (receptor-binding domain) explaining its ability to cross-neutralize SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, using a mechanism that is independent of receptor-binding inhibition."

"This antibody will be useful for the development of antigen detection tests and serological assays targeting SARS-CoV-2," say researchers in their findings published in Nature Communications. 

They add, "Neutralizing antibodies can alter the course of infection in the infected host supporting virus clearance or protect an uninfected host that is exposed to the virus. Hence, this antibody — either alone or in combination — offers the potential to prevent and/or treat COVID-19, and possibly also other future emerging diseases in humans caused by viruses from the Sarbecovirus subgenus."

What the researchers created is a fully human monoclonal antibody — man-made proteins that act like human antibodies in the immune system (Getty Images)

Researchers explain that the antibody used in this work is "fully human", allowing development to proceed more rapidly and reducing the potential for "immune-related side effects.”

"Conventional therapeutic antibodies are first developed in other species and then must undergo additional work to 'humanize' them. The antibody was generated using Harbour BioMed's H2L2 transgenic mouse technology," says the team.

For their research, experts used genetically-modified mice and injected them with spike proteins that viruses (such as those that cause SARS) use to invade cells. The mice produced 51 antibodies capable of neutralizing the spike protein of the injected coronaviruses.

The team then examined if the antibodies would neutralize SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV in lab samples, and found that 47D11 did.

The scientists say that this discovery provides a strong foundation for additional research to characterize this antibody and begin development as a potential COVID-19 treatment.

However, they add that more research is needed to see whether the findings are confirmed in a clinical setting and how precisely the antibody defeats the virus.

"This is groundbreaking research. Much more work is needed to assess whether this antibody can protect or reduce the severity of disease in humans. We expect to advance the development of the antibody with partners."

"We believe our technology can contribute to addressing this most urgent public health need and we are pursuing several other research avenues," says Dr Jingsong Wang, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of HBM, in the analysis. 

As of May 5, over 3,584,320 coronavirus cases have been reported globally, and 251,580 have died the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker. 

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