Can llamas’ blood save us from the flu? An odd thought but I
recently read an article describing how llamas produce extremely small
antibodies compared to that of humans which may allow them to be used to treat
the flu. The flu virus is known as the great evader when it comes to viruses.
It rapidly mutates, changing the proteins that our antibodies target when
trying to prevent the virus from taking hold. Due to the flu viruses’ rapid
mutation our body cannot produce to antibodies needed to beat the flu leading
to millions of Americans getting influenza each year. The large size of human
antibodies prevents them from being able to attack anything besides these
proteins. This is where the llama antibodies come in. The llama antibodies are
so small they can get past these proteins and attack other structures on the
flu virus that are not constantly mutating.
This research has the potential to be one of the greatest
medical break throughs of our time. A one-time flu shot that works forever
would be incredible. No more flu shot every year that may or may not work depending
on whether or not the vaccine carries the correct components to attack the ever-changing
virus. The time and cost to vaccinate each person every year would be
drastically reduced and the astronomical cost of treating influenza patients
would also be reduced. A win-win for all!
Unfortunately, this research is very new and many hurdles
have yet to be jumped. We have to figure out a way to inject llama antibodies
into humans without eliciting an immune response that destroys them before they
have a chance to destroy the flu virus. There are several other obstacles to
this method but can you imagine a life without influenza. At least this
research gives us hope!
In the current research for llamas' blood, can bacteria/ virus easily mutate? Each year we have to create a new strain of vaccines because of the adaptability that the virus' can do. Would this development of a vaccine open the human body to diseases that are only found in llamas? I am curious to see how this would work since there isn't much of a correlation between llamas and humans. I think this is awesome regardless of the exact details that are still needed to be worked out before being actually used in humans.
ReplyDeleteI find this incredibly interesting, and I think the questions Toan proposed are also important to think about since it is difficult to create a flu vaccine each year that protects against all strains of the flu. This post made me think about what other animals might have potential cures for diseases and illness. I found this article from Everyday Health (https://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/treatment/animal-cures-for-human-diseases/#01) that explains several examples about how researchers have found other animals that can help with cures. One of the ones I found interesting is that a compound in the Giant panda’s blood shows antibiotic properties and can possibly be used to kill bacteria and fungi. It makes me wonder if an animal can have a cure not only for the flu, but for maybe even cancer?
ReplyDeleteThe llama immune response sounds very interesting. Do you know what sort of viruses the llama typically encounters when in their natural environment? I am asking because I find it interesting that their antibodies are as small as you say, and I am curious to know why the llama has developed these antibodies versus other, larger antibodies. Also, I am also curious as to how these antibodies neutralize the flu virus within the body, whether it be upon arrival to the body or by neutralizing an infected cell, and how.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly sounds like a cool idea, but I certainly have some doubts about using llama antibodies. For one, I would be interested to see if influenza could simply mutate to get around llama antibodies as well. Sure, the idea would be to attack some part of the influenza virus that appears constant, but perhaps that 'part' of influenza appears constant because we have yet to attack it? I mean, think about why we get these infections every year, it's because new viral strains arise from populations that are being bombarded by our latest and greatest medical weapons. If we bombard these viruses in another way, what is unique to llama antibodies that will prevent a mutation that allows the virus to supersede them? Also, how do we get these antibodies? Do we need to first infect a bunch of llama's with some form of influenza? Is that even possible? Are there ethical concerns about inoculating these fuzzy creatures?
ReplyDelete