According to a new research study by the researchers of University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have reported to isolate the tiniest biological molecule (antibody component) that has ability to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Moreover, this antibody component is 10 times smaller compared to full-sized antibody and has been utilized to develop a drug called as Ab8, which acts as a therapeutic and prophylactic against SARS-CoV-2.
Moreover, researchers also suggested that Ab8 is highly effectual in inhibiting and treating SARS-CoV-2 infection that was observed in mice and hamsters model. They informed its smaller size augments its potential for dispersion in tissues to better neutralize the virus, and increases the possibility to administer the drug by alternative routes such as inhalation. Moreover, Ab8 does not bind to human cells that concludes about no negative side-effects in human beings.
Ab8 was assessed in collaboration with researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), University of Saskatchewan, and University of British Columbia.
John Mellors, M.D., chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UPMC, “Ab8 not only has potential as therapy for COVID-19, but it also could be used to keep people from getting SARS-CoV-2 infections. Antibodies of larger size have worked against other infectious diseases and have been well tolerated, giving us hope that it could be an effective treatment for patients with COVID-19 and for protection of those who have never had the infection and are not immune.â€
In this study, researchers evaluated Ab8 utilizing live SARS-CoV-2 virus. It was observed that at very low concentrations, Ab8 entirely inhibited the virus from entering the cells. With the help of those results, researchers further evaluated the efficiency of Ab8 at varying concentrations in mice model utilizing an improved version of SARS-CoV-2. Researchers found that at the lowest dose, Ab8 decreased by 10-fold the amount of infectious virus in those mice in comparison to their untreated mouse models. Ab8 also exhibited its efficiency in treating and preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters.