Researchers developed new tools to rapidly test the ability of antibodies to neutralize SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The approach understand whether patients are susceptible to reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 and assess the effectiveness of experimental vaccines, as well as develop antibody-based therapies against the disease.

People infected with SARS-CoV-2 produce neutralizing antibodies that prevent the virus from infecting cells by binding to the spike protein on the virus's surface.

Early studies have suggested that the strength of this antibody response varies greatly between patients, and it remains unknown how long any such neutralizing antibodies persist in the blood to provide protection against reinfection.

Meanwhile, efforts are under way to treat and prevent COVID-19 using either purified antibodies or whole blood plasma collected from convalescent patients who produce large amounts of neutralizing antibodies. Moreover, any successful vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 will have to induce the production of neutralizing antibodies.

Whether elicited by natural infection or vaccination, or administered as convalescent plasma or in recombinant form, neutralizing antibodies will likely be crucial for curtailing the global burden of COVID-19 disease.

Antibody tests using the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself are labor intensive and must be carried out in biosafety level 3 facilities, limiting their widespread application. Developed a number of safer, surrogate viruses that can be used in place of SARS-CoV-2 to test the neutralizing activity of antibodies targeting the coronavirus spike protein.

The surrogate viruses are versions of either the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) or vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) that produces the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein instead of their own surface proteins.

Some of these surrogate viruses are unable to replicate, making them even safer to use in the laboratory. Moreover, the viruses are engineered to generate fluorescent or luminescent infected cells, making it easy for researchers to track infection and measure how well this process is blocked by potential neutralizing antibodies.

Media Contact:

Sarah V

Managing Editor

Journal of Infectious Diseases & Therapy

Email: Jidt@eclinicalsci.com

What’s App: +1-947-333-4405