Posted on 08/23/2021 12:29:00 PM PDT by Red Badger
Targets key part of virus’ spike protein that changes little across variants. The virus that causes COVID-19 today is not the same as the one that first sickened people way back in December 2019. Many of the variants circulating now are partially resistant to some of the antibody-based therapeutics that were developed based on the original virus. As the pandemic continues, more variants inevitably will arise, and the problem of resistance will only grow.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified an antibody that is highly protective at low doses against a wide range of viral variants. Moreover, the antibody attaches to a part of the virus that differs little across the variants, meaning that it is unlikely for resistance to arise at this spot. The findings, available online in the journal Immunity, could be a step toward developing new antibody-based therapies that are less likely to lose their potency as the virus mutates.
“Current antibodies may work against some but not all variants,” said senior author Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine. “The virus will likely continue to evolve over time and space. Having broadly neutralizing, effective antibodies that work individually and can be paired to make new combinations will likely prevent resistance.”
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, uses a protein called spike to attach to and invade cells in the body’s respiratory tract. Antibodies that prevent spike from attaching to cells neutralize the virus and prevent disease. Many variants have acquired mutations in their spike genes that allow them to evade some antibodies generated against the original strain, undermining the effectiveness of antibody-based therapeutics.
To find neutralizing antibodies that work against a wide range of variants, the researchers began by immunizing mice with a key part of the spike protein known as the receptor-binding domain. Then, they extracted antibody-producing cells and obtained 43 antibodies from them that recognize the receptor-binding domain. Along with Diamond, the research team included co-first authors Laura VanBlargan, PhD, a staff scientist; Lucas J. Adams, an MD/PhD student; and Zhuoming Liu, PhD, a staff scientist; as well as co-author Daved Fremont, PhD, a professor of pathology & immunology, of biochemistry & molecular biophysics and of molecular microbiology.
The researchers screened the 43 antibodies by measuring how well they prevented the original variant of SARS-CoV-2 from infecting cells in a dish. Nine of the most potent neutralizing antibodies were then tested in mice to see whether they could protect animals infected with the original SARS-CoV-2 from disease. Multiple antibodies passed both tests, with varying degrees of potency.
The researchers selected the two antibodies that were most effective at protecting mice from disease and tested them against a panel of viral variants. The panel comprised viruses with spike proteins representing all four variants of concern (alpha, beta, gamma and delta), two variants of interest (kappa and iota), and several unnamed variants that are being monitored as potential threats. One antibody, SARS2-38, easily neutralized all the variants. Moreover, a humanized version of SARS2-38 protected mice against disease caused by two variants: kappa and a virus containing the spike protein from the beta variant. The beta variant is notoriously resistant to antibodies, so its inability to resist SARS2-38 is particularly remarkable, the researchers noted.
Further experiments pinpointed the precise spot on the spike protein recognized by the antibody, and identified two mutations at that spot that could, in principle, prevent the antibody from working. These mutations are vanishingly rare in the real world, however. The researchers searched a database of nearly 800,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences and found escape mutations in only 0.04% of them.
“This antibody is both highly neutralizing (meaning it works very well at low concentrations) and broadly neutralizing (meaning it works against all variants),” said Diamond, who is also a professor of molecular microbiology and of pathology & immunology. “That’s an unusual and very desirable combination for an antibody. Also, it binds to a unique spot on the spike protein that isn’t targeted by other antibodies under development. That’s great for combination therapy. We could start thinking about combining this antibody with another one that binds somewhere else to create a combination therapy that would be very difficult for the virus to resist.”
Reference: “A potently neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 antibody inhibits variants of concern by utilizing unique binding residues in a highly conserved epitope” by Laura A. VanBlargan, Lucas J. Adams, Zhuoming Liu, Rita E. Chen, Pavlo Gilchuk, Saravanan Raju, Brittany K. Smith, Haiyan Zhao, James Brett Case, Emma S. Winkler, Bradley M. Whitener, Lindsay Droit, Ishmael D. Aziati, Traci L. Bricker, Astha Joshi, Pei-Yong Shi, Adrian Creanga, Amarendra Pegu, Scott A. Handley, David Wang, Adrianus C.M. Boon, James E. Crowe, Jr., Sean P.J. Whelan, Daved H. Fremont and Michael S. Diamond, Accepted, Immunity. DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.08.016
This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), contract and grant numbers 75N93019C00062, HHSN272201700060C, 75N93019C00074, U01 AI151810, R01AI118938 and RO1AI157155; the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, grant number HR001117S0019; and the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation.
We’ll still need to fight the vaxports
sounds like another potential treatment
YES!
Chicken soup?
Well all I can say is “I guess we’ll find out”. Delta may be at or past the peak at this point. Will Lambda evade the vaccine conferred immunity? Some suggest Lamda has an altered spike protein that makes it unrecognizable to vaccine induced antibodies. It may have been a mistake to use the spike protein as a marker.
Further, some suggest that the presence of the vaccine induced antibodies put up additional hurdles for naturally induced T-cell reaction to Lamda infection... in other words, delayed or diminished ability for the human body to develop the killer t-cells that fight it off.
And this is why natural immunity, if you have it, is best - it causes a broad mix of antibodies to be produced. Even if you are already vaccinated, any subsequent exposure to the virus will strengthen your immunity.
HCQ or Ivermectin or Nebulized Hydrogen Peroxide w/ a couple of drops of iodine - reduce with 0-50% saline solution if too strong.
+
Zinc, D, A, C
+
Azythromycin or doxycyline
All have years or decades of safe use.
Scotch, bourbon, vodka, vino etc.
Better than chicken soup-—>fill lungs with more oxygen with aerobic exercise regularly.
God forbid that we use zinc.
UNLESS one is exposed to overload of virus material and it gets lodged in lungs via breathing, the virus has the upper hand. Anti-bodies can kill only so much of the virus.
“...The virus that causes COVID-19 today is not the same as the one that first sickened people way back in December 2019.”
Utter BS without citation. The spike protein is evolving, which is why the ‘vaccines’ are ‘leaky’ but confer SOME protection, as opposed to genuinely meeting the definition of a vaccine (to-date).
i wonder how these numbers compare wi civilian numbers since these numbers should be REAL, not like all the car accident/suicide/etc death attributed to the chinaflu like in hospitals across the country simply because they had a 45cycle PCR test
DoD COVID-19 numbers as of February 17, 2021 included the following:
259,116 total cases (up from 235,258 total cases)
168,589 military (up from 150,910)
47,574 civilians (up from 45,106)
25,691 dependents (up from 24,189)
17,262 DoD contractors (up from 15,053)
By service, COVID-19 cases included:
Army: 59,048 (up from 53,030)
Air Force: 28,008 (up from 27,343)
Marine Corps: 20,170 (up from 18,783)
Navy: 35,040 (up from 31,326)
National Guard: 24,261 (up from 19,422)
DoD Agencies: 1,062 (up from 1,006)
COVID-19 Recoveries in the DoD:
154,493 military (up from 105,714)
23,765 dependents (up from 16,474)
38,730 civilians (up from 27,966)
14,737 contractors (up from 9,930)
COVID-19 Deaths In The DoD:
DoD-connected personnel who have died from COVID-19 at press time:
24 military deaths (up from 21)
11 dependent deaths (up from 10)
211 civilian deaths (up from 182)
71 contractor deaths (up from 64)
There were also COVID-19 updates for cases involving the Department of Veterans Affairs.
237,237 total cumulative cases (up from 220, 330 total positive cases among veterans and VA employees)
10,971 deaths (up from 9,909)
if my arithmetic is right:
24 military deaths/168,589 military cases = 0.00014235804%
quite different from the numbers put out for the civilian population...
Ivermectin shields the receptor against EVERY new, mutated, or bio-engineered spike protein.
ziverdokit.store
usmil chinaflu death numbers
Feed Store
Can’t afford those kits
Mooo
Well, viruses mutate and the original fax is only specific to the original virus. The Jax isn’t adaptable. Since it isn’t and that it seriously injure the natural immune system, those vaxxed will have to have boosters for the rest of their lives.
I like the way you think! Being old, we just stay home, eat healthy and enjoy our beer. Best virus fighter ever!!
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