Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras recently developed an online open-source database, ‘Ab-CoV’ of coronaviruses neutralising antibodies.
About Ab-CoV database –
- It is an online open-source database of coronaviruses’ neutralising antibodies encompassing crucial features such as binding affinity and neutralisation profiles of antibodies.
- It is an exhaustive repository of antibodies, not just specific to SARS CoV-2 but also to other members of the coronavirus family, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) viruses.
- It also contains the source of each antibody and the viral protein(s) and virus strains they recognise.
- It includes 1,780 coronavirus-related antibodies, including 211 nano-bodies, and can help develop drugs against new variants of SARS-CoV-2.
- Ab-CoV has a wide range of search and display options through which users can directly search and download the processed data based on the antibody’s name, viral protein epitope, neutralised viral strain, antibody, and nanobody.
- It also has the option to view structures of antibodies or viral proteins in a 3D model.
- Applications — The information compiled in this database can assist researchers in,
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- antibody engineering;
- analysing immune escape for known and future variants of SARS-CoV-2;
- computational studies on neutralising antibodies;
- relating structural features with binding affinity;
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