A HERD of llamas are being used to help find treatments for Covid-19. The University of Reading is using antibodies from the animals to understand how potential drugs might bind to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
They are looked after by expert handlers working at the university, and blood taken is sent to the Francis Crick Institute where it is studied.
Professor Gary Stephens, from the School of Pharmacy said Nanobody technology is one of the most exciting new developments in medical research.
“Llamas play a crucial role in these studies as they are one of the very animals from which nanobodies can be produced,” he said.
“We’re pleased that the University of Reading is using its combined expertise in drug research and animal husbandry to keep a llama herd, and help the scientific effort to develop a treatment for coronavirus.
“The big benefit of using nanobodies produced by llamas is that they may be able to target the virus more effectively than other types of antibodies and are less prone to be attacked by the human body’s natural defences.”
The team from the Francis Crick Institute are using the nanobodies in multiple Covid-19 research projects.
Once researchers had produced the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the lab, they visited the llama herd, and injected one animal with the isolated protein.
Over two months, the llama continued to play in the fields, and its immune system created antibodies, in the same way humans do after a vaccine.
After collecting a blood sample of the antibodies, researchers isolated lymphocytes, immune cells responsible for antibody production, from the blood sample.
They used this to create more than 100 nanobodies for coronavirus research. These can be manufactured at scale for larger studies and have already helped the pandemic response.
Svend Kjaer, deputy head of structural biology at the Francis Crick Institute, called it a biological toolkit for studying SARS-CoV-2.
“We’ve been able to make nanobodies that neutralise different virus variants and better understand the mechanisms of infection and disease.
“These tools are being used by scientists throughout the Crick on a wide variety of projects from determining immunity to new variants to capturing changes in the virus structure during infection.”
Every injection or blood sample is considered one animal research ‘procedure’, regulated by a government licence and subject to inspection by Home Office officials.
It is also counted in the University’s annual reported animal research statistics.
The university said such procedures are considered ‘mild’ on a scale of severity to the animal.
