FFBW Contributes to Groundbreaking Research on Fibrin and Its Role in COVID-19

Research recently published in Nature and supported by the FFBW may have identified a potential therapeutic intervention for patients with acute infection and long COVID.

An experimental monoclonal antibody, 5B8, was shown to protect against microglial activation, neuronal injury and thromboinflammation in the lung after infection.

The antibody targets the inflammatory fibrin domain. Fibrin is derived from the soluble blood protein fibrinogen and is the central structural component of blood clots. Fibrin is deposited at vascular damage sites and or blood-brain barrier disruption, and it's a proinflammatory activator of the innate immune system in various diseases. In COVID, fibrin binds to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, forming proinflammatory blood clots that drive systemic inflammation and neuropathology.

The study, in its entirety, can be read here.