Journal Article

Monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19 therapy and SARS-CoV-2 detection

Su, Shih-Chieh, Wu, Han-Chung, Hsieh, Tzung-Yang, Ko, Shih-Han, Liang, Kang-Hao, Hwang, Yu-Chyi, Lu, Ruei-Min, Ke, Feng-Yi, Chiang, Pao-Yin

2022

Overview

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an exceptional public health crisis that demands the timely creation of new therapeutics and viral detection. Owing to their high specificity and reliability, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have emerged as powerful tools to treat and detect numerous diseases. Hence, many researchers have begun to urgently develop Ab-based kits for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Ab drugs for use as COVID-19 therapeutic agents. The detailed structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is known, and since this protein is key for viral infection, its receptor-binding domain (RBD) has become a major target for therapeutic Ab development. Because SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus with a high mutation rate, especially under the selective pressure of aggressively deployed prophylactic vaccines and neutralizing Abs, the use of Ab cocktails is expected to be an important strategy for effective COVID-19 treatment. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 infection may stimulate an overactive immune response, resulting in a cytokine storm that drives severe disease progression. Abs to combat cytokine storms have also been under intense development as treatments for COVID-19. In addition to their use as drugs, Abs are currently being utilized in SARS-CoV-2 detection tests, including antigen and immunoglobulin tests. Such Ab-based detection tests are crucial surveillance tools that can be used to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Herein, we highlight some key points regarding mAb-based detection tests and treatments for the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2) / Antibodies, Monoclonal - therapeutic use / Antibodies, Neutralizing / Antibodies, Viral / Antigens / B cells / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / Chemical compounds / Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) / Coronaviruses / COVID-19 / COVID-19 - diagnosis / COVID-19 - drug therapy / COVID-19 vaccines / Cytokine storm / Cytokines / Development and progression / Disease control / Disease transmission / Drug development / Drugs / Health aspects / Humans / Immune response / Immune system / Immunosuppressive agents / Immunotherapy / Infections / Medical research / Medical screening / Medicine, Experimental / Monoclonal antibodies / Mortality / Mutation / Mutation rates / Pandemics / Pharmacology / Proteins / Public health / Reproducibility of Results / Respiratory diseases / Review / RNA viruses / SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification / Severe acute respiratory syndrome / Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 / Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) / Spike / Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - genetics / Spike protein / Tumor necrosis factor-TNF / Viral detection / Viral diseases / Virus diseases / Viruses