In January 2020, the Director-General of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. For scientists, this confirmedthe urgent need to develop mass-scale testing for the disease, and find treatments that would prevent infection or reduce symptoms. We have come a long way since then. Testing and identification programs across the globe are limiting the spread of the virus, and the first vaccines – with emergency-use authorization in several regions – are already being administered to those most likely to become seriously ill if infected.
抗体制作在对抗Covid-19的斗争中一直至关重要。我们与我们的抗体制作专家，Rook Khajenouri发表讲话，了解抗体在大流行期间的中心舞台。
公众了解科学
A high proportion of the population will need to be vaccinated if immunization programs are to be successful. Scientists and medics must therefore engage with the public effectively to ensure the message around vaccines is clear. Rook talked about how a change in the public’s awareness of antibodies has already taken place:
“Before the pandemic, people knew the word ‘antibodies,’但他们不一定了解他们的功能。现在，人们意识到抗体的生产对于身体消除病毒的能力至关重要，并且疫苗的目标是刺激这种过程。“
在正在进行的研究中，这种意识将是有益的 - 这将取决于大量参与者的招募 - 了解感染和免疫后病毒可能在人口水平发展抗扰度。
The availability of mass testing programs
Countries with accessible and widespread "test and trace" systems recognize these as effective strategies in the fight against COVID-19. Rook described the key differences in some of the tests that are available:
“Testing for evidence of COVID-19 comes in two forms: polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and antibody detection tests. PCR tests diagnose an ongoing infection by detecting parts of the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19. Antibody tests, on the other hand, can tell us whether the body has launched an immune response to the virus, but not whether the virus is still present.”
早期，有一些key findings in the literaturethat helped us understand the natural immune response to antigens of SARS-CoV-2. For example, it became apparent that people who survive COVID-19 continue to produce protective antibodies for months following the onset of symptoms. This was promising news because when the body launches an effective and sustained immune response to a virus, there is hope that vaccinations designed to elicit that response will offer protection.
The role of antibodies in COVID-19 vaccines
As described, it is now well established that people infected with SARS-CoV-2 can make antibodies that neutralize the virus, as well as T cells that can recognize and killSARS-CoV-2-infected cells。这些发现offeredhope for those working to identify a vaccine.
目前正在开发的几种疫苗旨在触发人体生产抗体，然后将其附着在SARS-COV-2颗粒外部的蛋白质尖峰上。该方法可防止蛋白质尖峰锁定在人体细胞上，从而阻止病毒感染细胞并复制。
A return to normal?
Going forward, it is likely that we will always need thorough testing and immunization programs against COVID-19. However, Rook offered hope that some non-COVID-19-related clinical activity may be starting to resume. Envigo is now starting to see a resurgence of customers needing antibodies for the purposes that existed before the pandemic, and that will persist long into the future.
Custom antibody production
Because of the key role of antibodies in the fight against COVID-19, it is important that scientists and companies work with a supplier that ensures the antibodies they produce are high quality, consistent, and have been generated in compliance with cGMP guidelines.The services offered at Envigo can befound here, andour specialistsare available to discuss your needs.