Sharks may be the next step to fighting COVID-19

MADISON, Wis. (KLKN) – According to a press release from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, new studies show that small antibody-like proteins from the immune system of sharks can neutralize the COVID-19 virus.

“What we’re doing is preparing an arsenal of shark VNAR therapeutics that could be used down the road for future SARS outbreaks.” says researcher Aaron LeBeau (photo credit Bryce Richter)

The new VNARs will not be immediately available as a treatment in people, but they can help prepare for future coronavirus outbreaks.

According to the School of Medicine and Public Health and researchers at the University of Minnesota and Elasmogen, shark antibodies are one-tenth of the size of human antibodies, binding to infections in unique ways to increase immunity against infection.

The anti-SARS-CoV-2 VNARs were isolated from Elasmogen’s large synthetic VNAR libraries. One-tenth the size of human antibodies, the shark VNARs can bind to infectious proteins in unique ways that bolster their ability to halt infection.

Photo Credit Bryce Richter

“The big issue is there are a number of coronaviruses that are poised for emergence in humans,” says Aaron LeBeau, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of pathology in the Carbone Cancer Center who helped lead the study. “What we’re doing is preparing an arsenal of shark VNAR therapeutics that could be used down the road for future SARS outbreaks. It’s a kind of insurance against the future.”

The Shark antibodies were effective against the original SARS-CoV-1 outbreak in 2003.

Future therapies would likely include a cocktail of multiple shark VNARs to maximize their effectiveness against diverse and mutating viruses. This new class of drug is cheaper and easier to manufacture than human antibodies, and can be delivered into the body through various routes, but has yet to be tested in humans.

LeBeau and his team are studying the ability of shark VNARs to help in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.