SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody therapies: Recent advances and future challenges

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Virology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic presents a significant global health challenge with limited effective treatments.
• Neutralizing-antibody-based therapies are emerging as a promising approach for preventing and managing infectious diseases like COVID-19.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize current knowledge on COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies targeting diverse regions (RBD, non-RBD, host cells, cross-neutralization).
• To critically review scientific literature on antibody-based interventions for COVID-19.
• To examine antibody functional evaluation, focusing on in vitro assays and identify future research directions.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of scientific publications on COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies.
• Analysis of studies investigating antibodies targeting various SARS-CoV-2 regions.
• Evaluation of in vitro assays used for functional assessment of antibody efficacy.

Main Results:

• Numerous COVID-19 neutralizing antibody investigations are ongoing globally, with some progressing to clinical stages.
• Antibodies targeting different regions of SARS-CoV-2, including the receptor-binding domain (RBD), show therapeutic potential.
• In vitro assays are crucial for evaluating the functional capacity of these neutralizing antibodies.

Conclusions:

• COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies represent an innovative treatment strategy against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants.
• Further research is needed to address challenges and optimize the development of antibody-based therapies.
• Understanding antibody targets and functional evaluations is key to advancing treatment options.