As I always do, over-thinking things and i'll lead you down the rabbit hole of what I looked into regarding the announcement which was made this morning with Eli Lilly and and the NIH launched into treating Low-moderate forms of COVID-19 in hospital patients. (Gap for severe hmmmm?)
"The study will enroll residents and staff who live or work at facilities that have had a recently diagnosed case of COVID-19 and who are now at a high risk of exposure. It will evaluate the efficacy and safety of LY-CoV555 for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19, testing whether a single dose of LY-CoV555 reduces the rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection through 4 weeks, as well as complications of COVID-19 through 8 weeks. It is expected to enroll up to 2,400 participants. "
What is LY-CoV555 you may ask? Great Question! Its Drug: LY3819253 !
Wait what's Drug: LY381925? Another good question! LY3819253 is a human antibody that targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. It was derived from human B cells from convalescent patients.
Wait what? Cells to treat COVID19?!? How ridiculous! Whats a B-Cell? B cells, also known as B lymphocytes, belong to the white blood cells. They secrete antibodies and are a part of the adaptive immune system. B cells also play a role as professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and secrete cytokines.
Wait Cytokine! I have heard of that word before. Yes Over-secretion of cytokines can trigger a dangerous cytokine storm syndrome.
Oh No! is there any way to treat this issue? B-cells, studies currently suggest that the response of B-cells to MSCs depends on the culture microenvironment. Thus, although B-cells may d
irectly interact with MSCs to alter their characteristics and behaviors, other immune cells (e.g., T-cells and DCs) also play an indirect regulatory role and may serve as intermediates between the MSCs and B-cellsWait if B-Cells can also cause a cytokine storm why dont we just use MSC's to treat these patients?!?
Sources:
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-launches-clinical-trial-test-antibody-treatment-hospitalized-covid-19-patientshttps://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lilly-initiates-phase-3-trial-ly-cov555-prevention-covid-19-longhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04411628?cond=ly-cov555&draw=2&rank=1https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04427501?cond=ly-cov555&draw=2&rank=2Interaction between Mesenchymal Stem Cells and B-Cells
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4881476/
(20min delay)