Team isolates antibodies that neutralize GI bug norovirus

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have isolated the first human monoclonal antibodies that can neutralize norovirus, the leading cause of acute gastrointestinal illness in the world. These antibodies, described this week in the journal Gastroenterology, “have high potential” for improving diagnosis and treatment of norovirus illness as well as furthering efforts to develop the first effective norovirus vaccine, the researchers concluded. “In the past no one could grow norovirus in the lab, so progress on developing treatments was slow,” said James Crowe Jr., MD, the paper’s corresponding author. “Here we combined brand-new technologies for growing norovirus in primary human gut tissues with our state-of-the-art antibody discovery platform to identify these exciting antibodies.” Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 20 million people get sick from norovirus each year in the United States, most from close contact with...