UT researchers announce major breakthrough: A neutralizing plasma antibody called SC27

Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology >> National News >> UT researchers announce major breakthrough: A neutralizing plasma antibody called SC27

UT researchers announce major breakthrough: A neutralizing plasma antibody called SC27

 
POSTED ON Sep 09, 2024
 

New developments in medical technology have brought about significant advancement in the fight against COVID-19. According to a team of researchers, the identification of a new antibody shows effectiveness against all known variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have made a groundbreaking discovery with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Over the past four years since the discovery of COVID-19, the virus has evolved rapidly, resulting in variants with new and different characteristics. These variants are more resistant to vaccines and other treatments.

A research team led by The University of Texas at Austin conducted a study on hybrid immunity to the virus.

In this study, the team discovered and isolated a neutralizing plasma antibody called SC27 from a single patient.

The researchers obtained the exact molecular sequence of the antibody, opening the possibility of manufacturing it on a larger scale for future treatments.

SC27 has been found to neutralize all known variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as distantly related SARS-like coronaviruses that infect other animals.

The team’s technology, called Ig-Seq, provides a closer look at the antibody response to infection and vaccination using single-cell DNA sequencing and proteomics.

In addition to discovering this antibody, the research found that hybrid immunity, which combines both infection and vaccination, offers increased antibody-based protection against future exposure compared to infection or vaccination alone.

The team has filed a patent application for SC27.

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