Researchers from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Switzerland, have discovered antibodies against coronavirus coldspots. There are some portions of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 which are remarkably conserved. These regions are called coldspots.
The study describing the findings was recently published in the journal Science Immunology. The researchers analysed over 10 million coronavirus sequences as part of the study.
In a statement released by the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Virginia Crivelli, senior author on the paper, said most of the virus is rapidly changing, but the researchers discovered 15 regions that do not. They called these regions ‘coldspots’.
The team analysed samples from Covid-19 convalescent (used to describe a person recovering from an illness or undergoing medical treatment) individuals, and found that some had antibodies specific for the coldspots.
Filippo Bianchini, the lead author on the paper, said these antibodies are very rare, but thanks to a new method, they were able to find the antibodies.
According to the statement, the antibodies blocked virus infection in laboratory experiments, even to the latest variants of concern, and protected from disease in preclinical models. The researchers wonder if the new antibodies will be effective against the next coronaviruses.
Davide Robbiani, senior author on the paper, said it is likely that new coronaviruses which infect humans will emerge. He added that the findings indicate that it may be already possible to develop these countermeasures that are broadly against present and also future coronaviruses.
The study said that the antibody fp.006 binds the fusion peptide and cross-reacts against coronaviruses of the four genera, alpha, beta, gamma and delta, including the human coronaviruses 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2.
Antibody hr2.016 neutralises SARS-CoV-2 variants, antibody sd1.040 synergises with antibody rbd.042 for neutralisation, and antibodies fp.006 and hr2.016 protect mice expressing human ACE2 against infection when present as bispecific antibody.