Virus World

Scientists have engineered an antibody that effectively disables SARS-CoV-2 and closely related coronaviruses. Laura Walker at the biopharmaceutical company Adimab in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and her colleagues isolated antibodies from the immune cells of a person who had recovered from a 2003 infection with the virus SARS-CoV, which is related to SARS-CoV-2 (C. G. Rappazzo et al. Sciencehttps://doi.org/fsbc; 2021). By tinkering with the structure of the antibodies, the researchers created one, called ADG-2, that was particularly effective at disabling SARS-CoV-2 in a lab dish. The engineered antibody also disabled a variety of related coronaviruses.When given to mice, it stopped SARS-CoV-2 from reproducing in the rodents’ lungs and protected the animals from respiratory disease. Experiments showed that ADG-2 targets receptors found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 and a range of similar coronaviruses. The authors dub this receptor the Achilles heel of coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2, and suggest that this vulnerability could be exploited to make vaccines against emerging coronaviruses.

 

Findings published in Science (Jan. 25, 2021):

 https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/01/22/science.abf4830