New Covid 19 news

[dan_bgblue]

University of Pittsburgh news

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have isolated “the smallest biological molecule” that “completely and specifically neutralizes” SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The antibody component is 10 times smaller than a full-sized antibody, and has been used to create the drug Ab8, shared in the report published by the researchers in the journal Cell on Monday. The drug is seen as a potential preventative against SARS-CoV-2

“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,” said co-author John Mellors, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Pitt and UPMC. “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.”

Xianglei Liu of Pitt is also co-lead author of the study.

Researchers are “thinking outside the box” for how the drug could be administered, stating it may be able to be inhaled or through a superficial injection, instead of an IV.

[PedroDaGr8]

University of Pittsburgh news

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have isolated “the smallest biological molecule” that “completely and specifically neutralizes” SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The antibody component is 10 times smaller than a full-sized antibody, and has been used to create the drug Ab8, shared in the report published by the researchers in the journal Cell on Monday. The drug is seen as a potential preventative against SARS-CoV-2

“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,” said co-author John Mellors, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Pitt and UPMC. “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.”

Xianglei Liu of Pitt is also co-lead author of the study.

Researchers are “thinking outside the box” for how the drug could be administered, stating it may be able to be inhaled or through a superficial injection, instead of an IV.

Here is the actual preprint journal article for anyone who cares.

This is very much in my field. TBH, this is a very solid finding but far from a game changer that would impact the public health at this time. To provide some context for what I will say next, here is the structure of an IgG antibody:



They basically cleaved an anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody down to only the portion (VH, see my image) which contains the antigen binding site. This is not totally new or novel, which the paper admits. Cleaving that far clearly impacted binding, because they had to create a new version which fused Vh to Fc (see my image) and it had far better performance. Additionally, the 1/10th statement only applies to VH as the VH-FC fusion would be around 40-50% of the size of a standard antibody.

From a scientific method perspective, they did an excellent job. They went from the basic (creating the VH fragment) to the applied (testing in hamster models and screening a decent number of proteins) and covered things reasonably well.

Why am I bearish on this impacting public health? Testing in hamsters is a FAR CRY from testing in humans, they will be far behind any potential vaccine at this point. I think this construct will be more important for future diseases, in that it offers a degree of modularity that we don't see in normal treatments.

[Darrell KSR]

Thanks, guys. Appreciate both of you.

[Padukacat]

Thanks for the explanation Pedro

[Darrell KSR]

Thanks for the explanation Pedro

I am always amazed at the depth of knowledge, experience and intelligence of this group. Me, clearly excepted.

[KeithKSR]

I am always amazed at the depth of knowledge, experience and intelligence of this group. Me, clearly excepted.

What Pedro said was definitely out of my wheelhouse.

[VirginiaCat]

ok, great info. Now I feel really uneducated...

[dan_bgblue]

Can the common cold help protect you from COVID-19?

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0929123510.htm

[dan_bgblue]

https://www.foxbusiness.com/healthca...s-stock-slides

[dan_bgblue]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...1016164310.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...1016143047.htm