Scientists continue to search for effective treatments to fight the pandemic Covid-19. Apparently one of the solutions would come from a being little imagined by the scientific community.
In the case of studies on the SARS-CoV-2 A species little known on a popular scale is gaining prominence as an experimental animal. It’s about the llama (Lama glama), an artiodactyl mammal of the Camelidae family abundant in the Altiplano of the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia.
These animals are considered domestic and their origin comes from an artificial selection, from wild specimens of the guanaco.
For a long time, scientific groups have been working with these animals due to the uniqueness of their immune system, capable of producing antibodies for diseases caused by coronavirus.
The authors of this study published in the journal Scientific Reports have isolated a set of small antibodies O nanobodies which are active against SARS-CoV-2 generated naturally by a flame specimen known as Cormac.
The results published by this team, led by neuroscientists Thomas J. Esparza and David L. Brody, from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, indicate that at least one of these nanobodies, called NIH-CoVnb-112, generated by Cormac It could prevent infections and detect virus particles from SARS-CoV-2 proteins.
Cormac is a 16-year-old male specimen, the species Lama glama. It lives in the facilities of Triple J Farms in the United States, a center for research, development and production of compounds dedicated to medicine and veterinary medicine. Several groups of llamas, sheep, goats and donkeys live in the stables and the 32 hectares of meadows of this center.
“We hope that these anti-Covid-19 nanobodies can be highly effective and versatile in fighting the coronavirus pandemic,” explained the expert.
Studies have yielded encouraging results for scientists. (Photo: Freepik)
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Another study, published in the scientific journal Cell, carried out by University of Texas at Austin, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Ghent in Belgium also reported their findings on a pathway for a coronavirus treatment involving llamas months earlier.
The researchers linked two copies of a special type of antibody produced by flames to create a new one that binds tightly to a key protein in the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
This protein, called a spike, allows the virus to break down into host cells. Initial tests indicate that the antibody blocks viruses that infect cells with its spike protein.
The goal is to develop a treatment that helps people with severe or severe disease soon after infection.
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