Could COVID-19 be cured by antibodies from llamas?

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Covid could be cured by a nasal spray loaded with antibodies - taken from a llama called Fifi.

The goofy animals' immune system is far more effective at fighting the virus than a human's, say scientists.

It releases powerful chemicals that bind tightly to the spike protein - effectively neutralizing it.

Known as 'nanobodies' due to their small size, British scientists have isolated them from a single llama named Fifi.

It opens the door to treating the disease with an inexpensive and simple asthma-style inhaler or nasal spray.

Human antibodies have been a key therapy for serious cases during the pandemic.

But they typically need to be administered by infusion through a needle in hospital.

"Nanobodies have a number of advantages over human antibodies," said Professor Ray Owens, of Rosalind Franklin Institute in Didcot, Oxfordshire.

"They are cheaper to produce and can be delivered directly to the airways through a nebulizer or nasal spray, so can be self-administered at home rather than needing an injection," he said.

"This could have benefits in terms of ease of use by patients but it also gets the treatment directly to the site of infection in the respiratory tract."

Public Health England (PHE) said the breakthrough has "significant potential for both the prevention and treatment of Covid-19."

The nanobodies "are among the most effective SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing agents we have ever tested."

Vaccines are not enough to conquer Covid - which is caused by SARS-CoV-2. More effective medicines are urgently needed.

A portion of the spike protein was injected into Fifi at a production facility at Reading University.

It's found on the outside of the virus - infecting human cells by 'hooking' onto them.

Fifi did not become sick - but her immune system was triggered. A small blood sample enabled the researchers to purify four nanobodies.

Combining them into chains of three - called trimers - increased their ability to bind to the virus.

In lab tests on cells they destroyed both the original Covid strains and the Alpha variant first identified in Kent, UK.

A fourth nanobody chain neutralized the Beta variant that emerged in South Africa.

Hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed dramatic improvements after being injected with one of the chains.

They lost far less weight in a week than untreated peers - and had lower viral loads in their lungs and airways.

"Because we can see every atom of the nanobody bound to the spike, we understand what makes these agents so special," said Institute director Prof. James Naismith, who helped lead the project.

The results in Nature Communications are the first step towards developing a new type of treatment.

"It could prove invaluable in combating the pandemic," said Naismith. "While vaccines have proven extraordinarily successful, not everyone responds to vaccination, and immunity can wane in individuals at different times."

"Having medications that can treat the virus is still going to be very important, particularly as not all of the world is being vaccinated at the same speed and there remains a risk of new variants capable of bypassing vaccine immunity emerging."

If successful and approved, nanobodies will be an important treatment around the world.

"They are easier to produce than human antibodies and don't need to be stored in cold storage facilities," said Naismith.

The researchers, which included scientists at the universities of Liverpool, Oxford, and PHE, now hope to obtain funding to prepare for clinical studies in humans.

"Although this research is still at an early stage, it opens up significant possibilities for the use of effective nanobody treatments for Covid-19," said Professor Miles Carroll of PHE's National Infection Service.

"These are among the most effective SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing agents we have ever tested at PHE.

"We believe the unique structure and strength of the nanobodies contribute to their significant potential for both the prevention and treatment of Covid-19 and look forward to working collaboratively to progress this work into clinical studies.”

Utilizing the unique properties of llamas' nanobodies, this research could lead to an important new form of treatment for Covid-19 that is cheaper to produce and easier to administer," said Dr. Andrew Bourne.

Bourne is the director of partnerships at the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council in Swindon which co-funded the project.

"It is a vivid illustration of the impact that long-term discovery research at the cutting edge of physical and life sciences, as undertaken at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, can have," he said.

"The pre-clinical trials of the nanobodies in hamsters are extremely encouraging and suggest that they may be effective at treating the Covid-19 disease, as well as help, prevent infection," said co-author Prof. James Stewart, of Liverpool University.

"Having therapies such as this will be important for populations that are either unvaccinated or where vaccination is inappropriate or ineffective," he said.

The researchers also hope the nanobody technology could form a so-called ‘platform technology’ that can be rapidly adapted to fight other diseases.

"When a new virus emerges in the future, the generic technology we have developed could respond to that, which would be important in terms of producing new treatments as quickly as possible," Owens said.

Llamas are best known for their role in stress-busting trekking holidays, but they are also prone to temper tantrums when upset.