Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak In a statement to NBC News, Regeneron spokesperson Alexandra Bowie said that the caller used cells from a cell line called HEK293T. These cells date back to the 1970s and were originally taken from kidney cells in donate fetal tissue. Since then, the cells have become banal in research lab, thanks in part to the fact that they can replicate indefinitely, ensuring they never run out. Because of this, the cells are considered “ immortalized. ” “ HEK293T wasn ’ t used in any early way, and fetal tissue was not used in this research, ” Bowie said. “ We did not use homo root cells or homo embryonic stem cells in the development of ” the monoclonal antibody cocktail. HEK293T cells have unique properties that make them identical helpful in scientific research. namely, the cells can be trained to produce proteins like little factories, Dr. Arnold Kriegstein, conductor of the stem cell program at University of California, San Francisco, said. That ’ randomness beneficial to scientists studying Covid-19 treatments and vaccines, said Kriegstein, who is not involved with Regeneron ’ s research, because the cells can be taught to produce the virus ’ s alleged spike protein. That protein is unique to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, making it an excellent target for drugs and vaccines. indeed, Regeneron ’ s monoclonal antibody antibody drug works by binding to the virus ’ second spike protein. early in the drug development summons, scientists used HEK293T trained to produce the protein to test whether the drug would, in fact, oblige to it, Bowie said. “ The antibodies themselves were n’t made of any of these fetal cells, ” Kriegstein noted. “ But it was actually critical to use these cells to test how effective their approach very was. ”
Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak Cells from fetal tissue have been a part of medicate for decades as scientists have used them to study conditions like parentage defects, Alzheimer ‘s disease and AIDS, to name a few. Kriegstein said that he wasn ’ t surprised to learn that these cells were used in development of Regeneron ’ s antibody drug and that they ‘re reasonably wide used to test products like vaccines, for exercise. “ I think it ‘s very significant to know that the public understands tissue is highly important in a whole serial of breakthroughs over the years, and will continue to be an significant resource, ” he said. Three Covid-19 vaccine candidates that have received federal financing through the White House ’ s Operation Warp Speed have besides used cells from fetal tissue in their inquiry. AstraZeneca and Moderna both used the HEK293T cell line in early studies on their vaccines. Johnson & Johnson used a different cell trace called PER.C6, besides derived from fetal cells, to test its vaccine ’ s effectiveness against Covid-19.
Kreigstein said that in his experience most people don ’ metric ton know what goes into testing lifesaving drugs. “ It would surprise people if they always did find out precisely what goes into the production and testing of some of the treatments, ” Kreigstein said. “ And this is a arrant example. ” Follow NBC HEALTH on Twitter & Facebook.
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