Study suggests new antibody therapy for tick-borne disease
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a dangerous virus spread by ticks. It transmits Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a serious disease that has been spreading into new regions worldwide. Capable of killing up to 40% of people infected, it currently has no widely approved, highly effective treatments or vaccines.
Crimesan-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a severe disease spread by ticks, capable of killing up to 40% of those infected. Currently, there are no highly effective treatments or vaccines. A study led by Scott Pegan from the University of California, Riverside, has identified multiple targets for antibodies that could potentially treat CCHF.
The focus was on the nucleocapsid protein (NP) of CCHFV, a viral protein that had been overlooked as a therapeutic target. Pegan's team found four areas on the NP protein that antibodies can attach to, with one antibody, 9D5, proving highly effective in protecting mice from lethal CCHFV infection. This discovery suggests that antibodies targeting the NP can work through a different immune mechanism, helping mobilize the immune system to clear the infection.
The researchers also discovered that other sites on the NP protein may offer even greater potential for protective therapeutics. The next step for the team is to identify additional therapeutic antibodies, particularly those that offer broad-spectrum protection against multiple CCHFV strains. While the current 9D5 antibody is a mouse antibody and not yet a human treatment, the researchers hope to develop human or humanized antibodies suitable for further development.
The findings could have implications beyond CCHFV, as similar research has shown similar findings in other viruses, such as Lassa virus.
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