Data indicate that bats have played a role in the development of the emerging coronavirus, "Sars Cove 2", which causes Covid-19, while another animal, the llama, may have hope to defeat it.

Bats have become "notorious" as reservoirs of deadly viruses, such as the Ebola virus, the natural host for Hendra, Nepa and Marburg viruses, all of which can be deadly in humans, according to a report in the Washington Post.

Analysis of the genome of the SARS Cove 2 virus shows that it resembles other coronaviruses found in bats, in addition to viruses found in the scaly anteater.

The differences between the genomes of these coronaviruses show normal patterns of coronavirus development (coronaviruses are the family to which the emerging Corona virus that causes Covid-19), indicating that the corona virus evolved from a previous wild coronavirus.

One of the main features that makes the emerging coronavirus different from other coronaviruses is a protein called "Spike Protein", which has the ability to bind to another protein on the surface of human cells called "angiotensin-converting enzyme 2" (ACE2), which enables the virus From infecting a variety of human cells.

How do bats live and have all these viruses?

Despite the long list of bat viruses, they do not pose a threat to their families, and it is believed that this is due to the special features of the bat's immune system.

These amazing features of bats can be summarized as follows:

Bats have a large number of genes for making interferons, and some are genes that make interferons active all the time, even when there are no virus invaders, as interferons play a role in producing enzymes that interrupt and destroy the invasive genome genome.

Bats are able to tame inflammation, which is an essential process for fighting infection, but it can also be disastrous.

Inflammation is out of control is common in diseases such as Ebola, and some flu strains - including those that caused the deadly 1918 pandemic - unleash a barrage of inflammatory molecules, which may release a process called cytokine, which could lead to the patient's death.

The "cytokine storm" was so named because it is a substance called cytokines that circulates in the bloodstream, in the form of small proteins that form messages of immunity, and travel between cells with a variety of effects.

And when the cytokines that raise immune activity become very abundant, the immune system may not be able to stop itself, so the immune cells spread and begin to attack healthy tissues, and this may lead to damage to the liver, filling the lungs with fluid and lowering blood pressure.

In contrast, bats have ways to avoid this dangerous inflammatory reaction, such as producing substances that suppress inflammatory responses in their bodies.

Bats reduce the activity of groups called inflamed enzymes - which coordinate the release of all types of molecules that promote inflammation - bats actually stifle inflammation.

Scientists seek to study bats and try to understand their bodies, to apply some of their strategies and use in the treatment of diseases.

Viruses and bats are in an evolutionary arms race, in which viruses constantly evolve to evade the immune system of bats while bats evolve to tolerate infection from coronaviruses, and until the moment it appears that bats are advancing.

Llama

We move from an animal in which corona was raised, to an animal that may carry hope, as a recent study by a research team showed that antibodies from llama were able to neutralize the emerging corona virus.

The team includes researchers from the Rosalind Franklin Institute, University of Oxford, and Diamond Light Source public health in England.

The researchers hope that antibodies - known as nanobodies because of their small size - can be developed as a treatment for patients with severe Covid-19 cases, according to a statement posted on the Rosalind Franklin Institute website.

The study was published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

The researchers designed their new nanobodies using a group of antibodies taken from the llama blood cells, and it appeared that the nanobodies were closely related to the "Spike Protein" of the emerging corona virus, preventing it from entering human cells and stopping infection.

The researchers found that nanoparticles bind to Spike protein in a new and different way than other antibodies already detected.

Professor James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, a professor of biology at Oxford University, said these nanobodies could be used, effectively stopping the progression of the virus in patients.

"We were able to combine one of the nanobodies with a human antibody, and the formula was stronger compared to both before the incorporation," he said, adding that the nanobodies had potential as a diagnostic tool.