The animal carries the 'key' to neutralize Covid-19

Meet Winter, a 4-year-old llamas, living on a farm in rural Belgium.

While living with 130 other camels on the farm, Winter is becoming the focus of scientists when wearing antibodies against acute Covid-19 pneumonia.

Picture 1 of The animal carries the 'key' to neutralize Covid-19
Happy camel Winter (middle) is the "key" to create antibodies against Covid-19 disease of scientists. (Photo: Tim Coppen).

Starting with the experiment in 2016 when he was only 9 months old, Winter was a close friend of scientists in the process of researching two former corona viruses, SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV. Recently, a team of scientists from Texas Austin University, Ghent University and Belgium National Institutes of Health has continued to look to Winter with the goal of finding effective treatments against Covid- 19.

When a llamas camel's immune system (or other camels like Alpaca) detects invaders like bacteria and viruses, it immediately creates two types of antibodies: one similar to the antibody of humans and another are about a quarter the size, known as Nanobody .

The small size of the antibodies allows them to more effectively target micro viruses and support effective treatment through breathing.

The team linked two copies of antibodies in Winter's body to create a new antibody that is closely linked to the protein base of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

This protein has the ability to mutate, allowing the virus to enter the host cell. Early tests have shown that llamas camel antibodies prevent the virus from making these proteins, making them unable to infect cells.

"This is one of the first antibodies known to disable SARS-CoV-2," said Jason McLellan, a professor of molecular biology at the University of Texas with colleagues.

With initial results, the team is preparing to conduct clinical trials in rats or primates, hoping to achieve positive signals and the opportunity to test on the human body.

Picture 2 of The animal carries the 'key' to neutralize Covid-19
Researchers at the University of Texas Austin created antibodies from the Winter camel. (Photo: UT Austin).

'Vaccine must be injected 1-2 months before infection in order to provide the best protection. With antibody treatment, you pass the protective antibody directly into the body, so your body is protected right after treatment. In addition, antibodies can also be used to treat people who have already been infected to reduce the severe symptoms of the disease, '' concluded McLellan.

"We hope this antibody can neutralize many other SARS corona viruses , " said Daniel Wrapp, co-author of the study.

"The Winter camel is the superstar of this story," Wrapp added.

In addition to camel antibodies, McLellan also led the team for the first time to map the mutant protein of SARS-CoV-2, an important step in the journey to find a vaccine for the treatment of Covid-19.