Neutralizing antibody: a savior in the Covid-19 disease

Abstract

Coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. The pandemic has led to a devastating loss of life. It has shown us how infectious diseases can cause human existence at stake, and community health is important. The spike protein is the most immunogenic component of the virus. Most vaccine development strategies have focused on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the spike protein because it is the most specific target site that recognizes and interacts with human lung cells. Neutralizing antibodies are generated by the humoral immune system and reduce the viral load by binding to spike protein components. Neutralizing antibodies are the proteins secreted by plasma cells and serve as an important part of the defense mechanism. In the recent Covid-19 infection, neutralizing antibodies can be utilized for both diagnostic such as immune surveillance and therapeutic tools such as plasma therapy. So far, many monoclonal antibodies are in the clinical trial phase, and few of them are already in use. In this review, we have discussed details about neutralizing antibodies and their role in combating Covid-19 disease.

Keywords: Angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor; Convalescent plasma transfer (CPT); Covid-19; Neutralizing antibody; Receptor-binding domain (RBD).

Fig. 1

A schematic of development of monoclonal antibody. Different phases of antibody generation start from (1) generation of antibody in the lab (2) Screening of antibody and (3) Commercial manufacturing, clinical trials and approval, and distribution for therapeutic use

Fig. 2

Mechanism of action of neutralizing antibody: Once neutralizing antibody interacts with spike or RBD site, it prevents the entry by blocking Spike protein to ACE2 interaction. Another way is to prevent the fusion of the virus envelope to the cellular endosome