Sharks are amazing creatures! These marine inhabitants are over 400 million years old! During the evolution of sharks, they received a unique immune system – much stronger than that of humans, and capable of detecting and defeating almost any dangerous virus or life-threatening cancerous tumor. It is well known that sharks have exceptional wound-healing abilities, with injuries rarely resulting in death. That is why sharks live 50-70 years, and some species of sharks live up to 100 years!
Scientists have been trying to understand the unique nature of sharks’ immune defenses for a long time. And now, perhaps, humanity has come close to unraveling the mystery, the understanding of which will help people quickly and efficiently fight cancer!
On the pages of the well-known news portal Ussuu, the Director of Elasmogen, Caroline Barrell, shared the results of the latest achievements of their specialists, which the staff of the Inna Foundation carefully studied.
Elasmogen is a biotechnology company engaged in drug discovery and development. Caroline Barrell said that the company’s employees have developed a technology based on antibody-like molecules that are part of the adaptive immune system of sharks.
It is well known that the human immune system, when foreign cells are detected in the body, is able to secrete a protein called an antibody. Such a protein is attached to the surface of a foreign cell (virus, bacteria) and “calls” T-cells for help, which destroy the foreign organism. A few years ago, scientists developed artificial (monoclonal) antibodies. They are introduced into the body to detect and destroy cancer cells. But the fact is that human and artificial antibodies are quite bulky. Due to their large size, they can only contact a limited number of enemy cells. That is why the human immune system and artificial antibodies cannot fully fight cancer cells. Whether it’s shark antibodies!
As it turned out, the antibodies of the inhabitants of the deep sea are 10 times less than the antibodies in humans! This allows them to penetrate very deeply into cancer cells or bacteria. Another key difference is how they bind to disease target cells—they have a unique shape that allows them to bind to the more “hidden,” deeper parts of those “targets.” Caroline Barrell claims that the company’s development opens up great opportunities for doctors in the fight against cancer. Elasmogen’s newly developed antibodies (soloMER) are single-chain compared to previously developed multi-chain complex antibodies and provide a different mechanism of action that opens up new avenues for treating disease. For example, such molecules can be charged with chemotherapy drugs to penetrate deep into cancer cells and kill them.
Now scientists are saying that it will take 5-10 years to test such methods of fighting cancer (as with other dangerous diseases). And who knows! Maybe soon humanity will be able to defeat its most dangerous enemy – cancer!
