- Researchers from the US and Belgium think a four-year-old llama named Winter may hold a key ingredient for antibody research that could help fight the novel coronavirus.
- They found that Winter produces special antibodies that allows her to stave off infections against SARS and MERS — and very preliminary results suggest the antibodies could be used to successfully fight COVID-19.
- But this isn't the first time llamas have been used for antibody research. They've also provided promising treatment candidates for HIV and influenza.
- While humans can only produce large antibodies to fight off diseases, llamas can also produce tiny ones called nanobodies, which could better target viruses because of their size.
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Llamas aren't just the adorable, goofy creatures we know and love them to be. The furry animals could also be important players in antibody research, and may prove to be "heroes" in the fight against COVID-19.
Winter, a chocolate-brown llama with enviably long eyelashes, holds a key antibody that researchers hope could neutralize the coronavirus.
She and 130 other llamas are located on a research farm in Belgium, where they have been used for antibody research against SARS and MERS, both cousins of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, since 2016.
Llamas' ability to produce tiny, disease-fighting antibodies known as nanobodies have made them a coveted avenue of research. Here's how these furry animals could prove effective in the battle for coronavirus treatments.
Humans can only produce large antibodies that are made up of heavy and light-chain proteins, which come together in the shape of a Y. But llamas are also able to produce nanobodies, which are smaller in size and could help battle viruses more effectively.
Source: The New York Times
In human antibodies, heavy-chain proteins stretch the entire length of the Y shape, while the light-chain proteins are only on the arms of the Y.
Source: The New York Times
But llamas, sharks, and other camelids have antibodies that do not include light-chain proteins, which allows the arms of the Y to be much shorter. Because of this size difference, the antibodies are able to access smaller pockets and bind to areas of harmful proteins that viruses use to infect us.
To conduct the study, the researchers injected Winter with both SARS and MERS viruses, and then took a sample of her blood. Though the researchers were unable to find one broad antibody to fight both viruses, they found that Winter produced two strong antibodies to fight the viruses separately.
And a 2014 study, also conducted in cell culture, found that one llama antibody was able to neutralize over 95% of HIV strains, providing insight into possible therapy treatments.
Source: USA Today
The researchers are moving toward clinical trials for possible COVID-19 treatments. "There is still a lot of work to do to try to bring this into the clinic," Saelens told The Times. "If it works, llama Winter deserves a statue."
—The New York Times (@nytimes) May 6, 2020