(WHDH) — It may sound bizarre to most, but llamas could be the key to fighting the new coronavirus, research suggests.
Researchers from Belgium and the United States published an article this week in the journal “Cell” that highlights the potential use of llama antibodies to prevent COVID-19 infections.
Antibodies from a 4-year-old Belgian llama named Winter show promise in blocking coronavirus from infecting cells, according to researchers at the University of Texas-Austin, the National Institutes of Health and Ghent University.
While studying earlier forms of coronavirus, researchers found an antibody in Winter that effectively attached itself to and neutralized spike protein in SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV.
Researchers believe the particular antibody, which has been found in other llamas as well, can be injected into an uninfected individual and protect them from getting infected with the new coronavirus.
“While we were working on this project, the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus emerged and the spike proteins are pretty similar between SARS-CoV-2 and the original SARS,” Jason McLellan, associate professor of molecular biosciences at UT-Austin and co-senior author of the article, told USA Today.
McLellan said that unlike most vaccines, antibody treatment works almost immediately.
“Immediately after injection, they’ll basically have immunity to that virus,” McLellan said.
Human trials could be ready in about two months and injections could be manufactured in mass if need be, according to McLellan.
Llamas would not need to be sacrificed for their antibodies.
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