They detect antibodies against the coronavirus that could replace booster doses

The coronavirus pandemic is still affecting humanity. Although the number of cases has decreased recently, There are people who can still catch the virus. So far, 64% of the world’s population has received a primary vaccination plan. 31% agreed to the booster doses, which apply because the safety of the primary regimen diminishes over time.

Faced with the prospect of new forms emerging in the future, there are Israeli researchers they made a advance which can become a substitute for Booster doses are not needed in the future. At the moment, and while that option is being developed, reinforcement should be implemented.

Globally, the number of weekly COVID-19 cases decreased by 12% during the week of August 29 to September 4 compared to the previous week, with fewer than 4.2 million new cases reported compared to the previous week. World Health Organization, With more than 13,700 victims reported, the weekly death toll has decreased by 5% compared to the previous week. There is a lot of research going on to prepare for the future. On the one hand, specific booster doses have been developed against Omicron. There are also four vaccines that are given by mouth or nose. Furthermore, there is now the possibility of developing an intervention that can act against all existing or emerging forms.

This possibility arises from the investigation of Tel-Aviv University, scientists of the institution that is headed natalia friend, managed to isolate two antibodies that neutralize all known types of COVID-19, including Micron, which is prominent this year. It works with efficiency up to 95%,

Targeted treatment with antibodies and their delivery into the body in high concentrations may serve as an effective alternative to vaccines, particularly for populations at risk and those with weakened immune systems. The scientists estimate that with antibody treatment, it has the potential to eliminate the need for repeated booster shots of the entire population each time a new variant emerges.

The researchers demonstrated that antibodies isolated from the immune systems of recovered COVID-19 patients are effective in neutralizing all known variants of the virus, including variants. Delta and Omicron, according to researchersThe discovery could eliminate the need for repeated booster vaccinations and boost the immune systems of populations at risk.

PhD students also participated in the research. Michael Morrow You ruofan lifrom the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at the Sackler School of Medicine. The study was conducted in collaboration with Dr. ben crockerfrom the University of California at San Diego. Teacher Ye Jiang from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Teacher Meital Gal-Tanamy and doctor moshe dessou Also took part in the study from Bar-Ilan University. The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications Biology,

This study is a continuation of preliminary work that was done in October 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. At the time, Dr. Freund and his colleagues sequenced all immune system B cells in the blood of people who had recovered from the original strain of coronavirus in Israel, and isolated nine antibodies produced by the patients. Researchers have now found that some of these antibodies are highly effective in neutralizing new forms of the coronavirus, Delta and Omicron. Clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of antibodies as a treatment will be needed.

According to Freund, “In a previous
study, we showed that different antibodies formed in response to infection with the parental virus are directed against different sites on the virus. The most effective antibodies were those that bound to the virus’s spike protein, at the same site where the spike binds to the cellular receptor ACE2. Of course, we weren’t the only ones to isolate these antibodies, and the world health system made widespread use of them until the arrival of a variety of coronaviruses, which virtually rendered most of these antibodies useless.

“In the present study, we show that two other antibodies, TAU-1109 and TAU-2310, bind to the virus’s spike protein in a region different from the region where most antibodies were concentrated so far. (and therefore less effective at neutralizing the original stress) They are actually very effective in neutralizing Delta and Omicron variants. According to our results, the efficacy of the first antibody, TAU-1109, is 92% for neutralizing the Omicron variant, and 90% for neutralizing the delta variant. The second antibody, TAU-2310, neutralized the Omicron variant with an efficiency of 84%, and the delta variant with an efficiency of 97%”.

According to Dr. Freund, the surprising effectiveness of these antibodies may be related to the growth of the virus: “The infectivity of the virus increased with each variant because each time the amino acid sequence of the part of the spike protein that binds to the ACE2 receptor changed., thus increasing its infectivity as well as avoiding the natural antibodies created after vaccination. In contrast, the TAU-1109 and TAU-2310 antibodies bind not to the ACE2 receptor binding site, but to another region of the spike protein—a region that for some reason does not undergo multiple mutations—and that is why they are effective in more viral variants. to neutralize. This discovery came after we tested all types of coronaviruses known so far. ,

Freund’s lab at Tel Aviv University was sent into cultures to test their efficacy against live viruses. against pseudoviruses at the University of California San Diego, and at the Bar-Ilan University School of Medicine laboratories in Galilee. The results in both trials were similar and equally encouraging.

Freund believes antibodies could be a real revolution in the fight against COVID-19: “We have to consider the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of past disease outbreaks that humanity has seen. People who were vaccinated against smallpox at birth and who are 50 today still have antibodies, so they are probably at least partially protected from the monkeypox virus we’ve heard about recently. .he pointed.

Unfortunately, this protection from the smallpox vaccine is also not provided with respect to the coronavirus vaccines. “For reasons we do not yet fully understand, antibody levels to COVID-19 drop significantly after three months, which is why we continue to re-infect people even after three vaccinations. Let’s see it happen.” , warned the researcher.

“In our opinion, selective antibody treatment and its administration to the body in high concentrations may serve as an effective alternative to repeated booster doses, particularly for populations at risk and those with weakened immune systems. COVID-19 infection can cause serious illness, and we know that providing antibodies in the first few days after infection can prevent the spread of the virus. Therefore, it is possible that by using an effective treatment with antibodies, we do not have to give a booster dose to the entire population every time a new variant comes out,” he speculates.

consulted by infobaedoctor Laura Bower, Argentine scientists and director of monoclonal antibodies at the MD Anderson Center in the United States assessed the results of the research, published in the journal. Nature Communications Biology, “When antibodies are generated, the most important step, as Cesar Milstein himself recommended, is to “Screening”. In other words, testing is critical to select the most effective antibody to achieve the proposed objective., either therapeutically or in tissues for u
se in the diagnosis or localization of the ‘target’ molecule of study”, he explained.

The group led by a scientist from Israel – Dr. Bower explained – “Isolated genetic material of antibodies from antibody-producing plasma cells, created and tested recombinant antibodies receptor binding domain Of all the types mentioned in the study. They selected those that bound with greater affinity, and more neutralized both the viral particles and the pseudovirus, also introducing specific mutations present in the different variants and to measure how these parameters are affected. This same selection process allows them to select the best candidates to join and neutralize known forms.”

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