Image credit:
Unsplash
Several parts of the world are facing an upturn in COVID-19 infections, mostly of the Delta variant that has caused much concern throughout the world. With a hopeful news, the magazine Nature reported on a group of scientists who found the S2H97 a "superanticuerpo" with properties to fight many variations of the virus.
Although the information is still very recent and has only been experienced in hamsters, this discovery may lead to a much more efficient vaccine and other medical treatments to help manage the health crisis. The responsible scientists work at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, led by Tyler Starr, a biochemist at the same institution. They examined 12 antibodies isolated from people who had already been infected and took tests of different variants.
To fight the virus, antibodies attach themselves to a fragment of viral protein, which is what binds to receptors on human cells. Many of the antibody therapies work in the same way , but S2H97 appears to have a greater ability to adhere so it is an option that might work better. When analyzed in more detail, they were able to see that it targets a previously invisible region that is only revealed when the domain binds to the cell's receptor.