Nanobodies found in llama & camels shown to combat Covid, study finds

MELBOURNE: The news covering nanobodies has been in vogue recently with the Covid onslaught and in Austrailia new studies conducted on the nanobodies of llamas, alpacas and camels have found to be a promising alternative in helping to combat the novel coronavirus transmission and mutations as well. But how exactly?

As COVID-19 rages on globally, the scientific community is eager more than ever to determine vaccines and drugs that can combat the pandemic.

A team of Australian researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), the Doherty Institute, and the Kirby Institute have together discovered neutralizing nanobodies from llamas could help block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering cells.

This study suggests the importance of neutralizing nanobodies against SARS-CoV-2 as an important medicinal option. The nanobody and antibody mixtures have shown reliable results in preventing the occurrence of resistance mutations.

Researchers added using nanobody mixtures can be beneficial in controlling more highly infectious variants and reducing the potential for virus escape mutations to develop.

Dr Aashish Manglik, assistant professor of anesthesia pharmaceutical chemistry explained that everybody makes antibodies, and makes them to fight off all kinds of infections.

“We’re all hoping to get the coronavirus vaccine to help us make antibodies against the virus and help us prevent getting infected.”

But he added that it turns out that animals like llamas or alpacas or camels make these tiny little antibodies that have been dubbed nanobodies.

“The cool thing about these nanobodies is that they’re very stable little proteins.

“And we’ve come up with a way of making these nanobodies that will attack the SARS virus and we think this can be a really interesting alternative.”