Proteins taken from the immune system of sharks can prevent COVID-19 and its variants like the Omicron strain from entering human cells. But this type of treatment may only be available by the beginning of the next mass outbreak.
Small proteins similar to antibodies found in the immune system of sharks can be natural killers of coronavirus, not only preventing the development of the disease initially, but also effectively destroying a variety of strains, including Omicron, which is now rapidly spreading around the globe. The proteins, known as VNARs, are about one-tenth the size of human antibodies. They are small enough to get into places where human antibodies cannot penetrate, as told by Aaron LeBeau from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Together with his colleagues, he isolated several promising VNARs from billions of proteins, and they effectively prevented the virus from infecting human cells. However, research shows that new drugs will not be available during the current coronavirus pandemic – these shark-based drugs will only be prepared for future spikes years from now.
It should be noted that although various kinds of lockdowns and quarantines were able to bring down the incidence of coronavirus in different states, humanity still does not have specific drugs to treat this ailment. All the drugs used were originally created for other diseases, and the development of new drugs takes a long time. Antibody-based drugs are considered one of the most promising because they have quite a powerful effect. But the release of these drugs is unlikely to take place in the near future.
