Llama Blood Produced Nanobodies That Could Potentially Treat COVID-19
LLAMA PRODUCED NANOBODIES – Who would’ve thought that a 4-year-old llama could potentially hold a coronavirus treatment?
Meet Winter, a peaceful 4-year-old llama grazing in a Belgian field. Winter was part of a SARS research back in 2016 and was vaccinated for the coronavirus that causes MERS and SARS.
According to the researchers, Winter produced antibodies in response to its vaccination. Furthermore, the researchers stated that the antibodies were able to potentially neutralize both coronaviruses.
Based on a report from CBC, team lead Daniel Wrapp, a PhD candidate at the University of Texas said they began new testing as soon as COVID-19 became world news.
Following this, Wrapp and his team tested the antibodies from Winter on cells infected with COVID-19. Afterward, the team study revealed that Winter’s antibodies had successfully neutralized the virus.
The studies conducted were then published in the scientific journal, Cell in collaboration with researchers from Ghent University in Belgium. As per the report, Wrapp stated:
We’re really excited about potentially exploring this antibody as a therapeutic to help fight off COVID-19
Wrapp also emphasized that llamas are perfect for these experiments as their body produces “nanobodies”. These are about half the size of human antibodies.
Furthermore, he explained that the reduced size allows the nanobodies to latch on into crevices that the larger antibodies normally couldn’t. Additionally, he highlighted that all llamas could produce their own nanobodies.
So far, Wrapp and his team had yet to transition into human trials. For now, Wrapp said the tests they made begun with hamster. Eventually, they would test non-human primates, and if successful – human trials.
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