A new study in China suggests antibodies can actually worsen Covid-19 patients.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, HONGKONG – Researchers are urging drug makers to examine whether a vaccine is Covid-19 can experimentally cause the immune system to produce antibody high risk known as 7F3. The antibodies are thought to actually help corona virus attack cells in some cases.
Researchers have identified high-risk molecules commonly found in Covid-19 patients that actually help the virus rather than tame it. They found this problem tends to occur when antibody levels in the blood are relatively low.
Antibodies are produced by the immune system to fight foreign material that tries to enter the body, such as the new type of corona virus, SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19. However, a new study in China suggests antibodies can actually worsen Covid-19 patients in some cases.
Researchers at Fudan University, Shanghai found some of the 222 patients in the study had specific antibodies that help the coronavirus attack their own immune cells. In details, about eight percent of the study subjects had mild Covid-19 symptoms and 76 percent of those who had recovered.
This problem is known as increased antibody dependence or ADE. This case has been seen before with infections caused by other viruses, such as Zika, dengue fever and acute respiratory syndrome. It also hinders drug and vaccine development.
“The potential for ADE response is of concern for SARS-CoV-2 in the use of plasma or recovery antibodies as treatment,” said the research team led by Huang Jinghe in the published paper. South China Morning Post on Friday (16/10).
Their findings were presented the same day American drugmaker Eli Lilly halted clinical trials of an antibody treatment for Covid-19. The reason for its termination is a potential security problem.
This US government-sponsored Phase 3 trial involved hundreds of patients. US health authorities said the clinical status of the study subjects had passed a predetermined safety threshold.
– .
