Shark antibody-like protein can neutralize the new coronavirus and help cope with the future coronavirus pandemic

A new study points out that a small unique antibody-like protein called Single-domain Variable New Antigen Receptor (VNAR) derived from the shark’s immune system can block the coronavirus SAR that causes COVID-19.

These new VNARs will not be used immediately as a treatment for humans, but they can help people prepare for future coronavirus outbreaks

If these viruses jump to humans, the development of treatments for such animal-borne viruses in advance may prove useful

These anti-SARS-CoV-2 VNARs were isolated from Elasmogen's large synthetic VNAR library

The authors tested the shark VNAR against infectious SARS-CoV-2 and pseudovirus (a version of the virus that cannot replicate in cells)

Shark VNAR can effectively neutralize the infectivity of multiple coronaviruses.

One of the VNARs called 3B4 strongly attaches to a groove on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which is close to where the virus binds to human cells, which seems to make it prevent this Combining process

The 3B4 binding site is also unchanged in the major variants of SARS-CoV-2, such as the Delta variant

The second most powerful shark VNAR---2C02---seems to lock this spike protein in an inactive state

Future therapies may include a mixture of multiple shark VNARs to maximize their effectiveness against a variety of mutated viruses

Vaccines are the cornerstone of the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 and future coronaviruses

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Reference materials:

Obinna C.

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