The coronavirus pandemic started with bats and could be ended by animals as well. The team from the Medical Biotechnology Laboratory at the "Universidad Austral" in Chile is working with alpacas to find a vaccine that will neutralize the virus.
According to experts, these animals have an exceptional immune system that could be capable of generating antibodies against coronavirus. Most of the alpaca's antibodies are very simple, as they are generated from a single gene, so, with only one blood sample, the genes that produce the antibodies can be obtained separately, among them, the hypothetical ones of coronavirus. If this worked, they could reproduce themselves in an unlimited way and, in short, generate an effective vaccine for humans.
How is the study carried out?
The team from the "Universidad Austral" in Chile has implemented a technology that uses the Celldiscoverer 7, one of the most advanced microscopes in existence, to develop the work. This will allow the automatic and faster location of antibodies isolated in alpaca extractions.
Regarding this, the researchers have already made great advances in the field, with the identification of antibodies that have immunized several alpaca specimens against the initial process of coronavirus. This opens the door to the generation of an antiviral that could be inhaled or injected by humans with the disease. However, there are still several phases to be able to corroborate this.
[This is a translation of the original article "Este es el emblemático animal que puede generar la esperada vacuna contra el coronavirus" published in espanadiario.net]