Development of a hyperimmune equine serum therapy for COVID-19 in Argentina.

The disease named COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, is currently generating a global pandemic. Vaccine development is no doubt the best long-term immunological approach, but in the current epidemiologic and health emergency there is a need for rapid and effective solutions. Convalescent plasma is the only antibody-based therapy available for COVID-19 patients to date.

Restoration of antitumor immunity through anti-MICA antibodies elicited with a chimeric protein.

Background: Natural killer and cytotoxic CD8 T cells are major players during antitumor immunity. They express NKG2D, an activating receptor that promotes tumor elimination through recognition of the MHC class I chain-related proteins A and B (MICA and MICB). Both molecules are overexpressed on a great variety of tumors from different tissues, making them attractive targets for immunotherapy.

Development and Evaluation of a Novel VHH-Based Immunocapture Assay for High-Sensitivity Detection of Shiga Toxin Type 2 (Stx2) in Stool Samples.

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing (STEC) is the main cause of postdiarrheal hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening clinical complication characterized by hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute renal failure that mainly affects children. A relevant feature of STEC strains is the production of Stx, and all of them express Stx1 and/or Stx2 regardless of the strain serotype. Therefore, Stx detection assays are considered the most suitable methods for the early detection of STEC infections.

[Development of a product anti-Shiga toxin for prevention of the hemolytic uremic syndrome].

The typical hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is an orphan disease caused by Shiga toxin(Stx) producing Escherichia coli strains and characterized by acute kidney damage, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and low platelet count. It is endemic in Argentina, the country with the highest incidence of HUS in the world. Stx is essential for its development and therefore, HUS is considered a toxemic non-bacteremic disorder, which could be treated with antibodies.

Development of camelid single chain antibodies against Shiga toxin type 2 (Stx2) with therapeutic potential against Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections are implicated in the development of the life-threatening Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). Despite the magnitude of the social and economic problems caused by STEC infections, no licensed vaccine or effective therapy is presently available for human use. Single chain antibodies (VHH) produced by camelids exhibit several advantages in comparison with conventional antibodies, making them promising tools for diagnosis and therapy.