Antibody that inhibits the new coronavirus discovered in patient who had SARS 17 years ago

A lab technician holding a blood sample.

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A person who had severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 17 years ago could help scientists in the search for therapies to fight the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, according to a new study from a biotech company.

The study researchers found that blood samples from this patient, who had SARS in 2003, contained an antibody that also appears to inhibit SARS-CoV-2.

Antibodies form part of the body’s immune response to pathogens. This particular antibody, which the researchers call S309, showed a strong ability to bind to and disable the "spike protein" on SARS-CoV-2 that allows the virus to enter cells, according to a statement from the University of Washington School of Medicine, which was involved in the research. Multiple authors on the study work for Vir Biotechnology, and the company is developing a therapeutic based on the study findings.

The findings "pave the way" for using S309, either by itself or as part of an "antibody cocktail," for preventing or treating COVID-19 (the disease caused by the novel coronavirus), the authors wrote in their paper, published today (May 18) in the journal Nature.

Many labs are currently looking for so-called "neutralizing antibodies" — which block a pathogen from infecting cells — as a treatment for COVID-19. But unlike most previous research, which looked for these antibodies in people who've had COVID-19, the new study looked for them in a person who had SARS infection back in 2003. The researchers had been studying this individual since 2004, and had previously identified neutralizing antibodies against SARS. "This is what allowed us to move so fast compared to other groups," said study co-senior author David Veesler, an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Among the 25 antibodies investigated, the authors found several antibodies that could bind to SARS-CoV-2, and one in particular, S309, was a "potent" neutralizing antibody.

When the researchers combined S309 with other antibodies that had weaker activity against SARS-CoV-2, this "antibody cocktail" further enhanced the neutralization of SARS-CoV-2, the authors said. Such a cocktail might be used as a prophylactic treatment for people with a high risk of exposure to COVID-19 (such as health care workers), or as a treatment for severe illness, they said.

Originally published on Live Science.

Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.