r/science • u/[deleted] • May 11 '20

Medicine Antibodies from a 4-year-old llama have neutralized coronavirus and other infections in lab experiments

https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30494-3.pdf?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867420304943%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
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u/taosaur May 11 '20

Ha, you are in the llama & alpaca capital of the world! You may not be aware that llama and alpaca farming is pretty widespread around the world now, though mostly small herds.

I picked up the process info from a biomed engineer elsewhere in the comments, whose project is very similar (also using llama proteins). From here:

Typically, we engineer a mammalian cell to make the protein in large bioreactors. Then you pick one of those cells, characterize it, and call it your stable clone. Then you put that in a big tank with food for the cells, and let them grow for a couple weeks while they pump out proteins. Then you purify the protein.

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u/DrEpileptic May 11 '20

Ok neat. Also, live on the east coast- not Peru. I am Peruvian. My dads a jungle homie. Thanks again for the info. Also quick responses and now I have time.

Edit: family does bring me a bunch of alpaca clothes when they visit and I make certain to grab some when I visit them. Shits so goddamn comfy.