Current Event #10: Holden D'Avico

Holden D’Avico

Mr. Ippolito

AP Bio

1/7/20

NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "Neuroscientists isolate promising mini antibodies against COVID-19 from a llama: Preliminary results suggest anti-COVID19 nanobodies may be effective at preventing and diagnosing infections." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 December 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201222081257.htm>. 

“Neuroscientists isolate promising mini antibodies against COVID-19 from a llama” provided by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is an article that covers the work of Thomas J. Esparaza and David L. Brody. Esparaza and Brody conduct research at a brain imaging lab at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Brody says that “for years TJ and I had been using nanobodies to improve brain imaging. When the pandemic broke, we thought this was a once in a lifetime, all hands-on-deck situation and joined the fight” (Dr. Brody). Nanobodies are a special type of antibody that are naturally produced by carmelids which include camels, alpacas, and llamas. The specific structure of nanobodies make them highly effective in recognizing and combating viruses, bacteria, and antigens. Nanobodies are also important because they are easier and cheaper to produce and they are more stable than typical antibodies. Due to their effectiveness, nanobodies have grown in popularity among medical researchers. When the pandemic broke out, researchers such as Esparaza and Brody were quick to experiment with nanobodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein acts like a key that opens doors to infections when it binds to a protein receptor on the surface of some cells. The nanobodies produced by researchers work by blocking the spike protein, therefore, preventing it from infecting cells. The researchers experimented with a llama named Cormac and over 28 days, Cormac produced 13 promising nanobodies. Some later research shows that the nanobody was equally effective in preventing infections when it was sprayed. This reveals that the nanobodies can be used in nebulizers. The research team is currently awaiting for approval of their patent for their nanobody. 

The nanobodies produced by Esparaza and Brody are very important because if the patent is approved and the nanobody treatment is approved by the federal government, the lives of many patients infected with COVID could be saved. Every form of research whether it be treatments or vaccines is significant in the fight against the pandemic. Until the vaccine is widely distributed and even afterwards for patients in serious condition, the nanobody treatment could be very useful. Also, for when a new virus or disease spreads across the globe in the future, scientists could model their research off of Esparza and Brody’s work. The nanobody treatment is both important now in order to combat the pandemic and help save lives and in the future when another pandemic inevitably occurs. 

One strength of the article is that it explains the topic very well in order to familiarize the reader with a complex and confusing topic. The article begins with an introduction to the researchers and their field of study. The author then explains nanobodies and their importance over time. Finally, the author explains how nanobodies work (acts like a key) which helped me understand the microscopic interactions between nanobodies, viruses, and cells. One weakness of the article is that it doesn’t detail the specific experiment very well. I have never heard of this type of experiment on llamas and it would be beneficial for the author to go over the experiment. The author should’ve detailed how the experiment was conducted and how the data was collected.