Study provides evidence of T-cells, induced by a common cold infection, protecting against COVID-19.
SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for causing COVID-19, belongs to a family of coronaviruses. These groups of RNA viruses can either result in a mild common cold or more severe pneumonia. كازنو Earlier in the pandemic, experts had predicted the novel coronavirus to cause a common cold-like illness; the prediction was soon proven wrong. Many people infected with SARS-CoV-2 go on to develop a wide variety of symptoms affecting the respiratory, digestive, and neurological systems. رهانات الخيول However, some people never develop an infection despite exposure. Over the course of the pandemic, researchers have put forward numerous theories as to why some people are protected from SARS-CoV-2 infections. According to the study published in Nature Communications, T-cells produced from previous common cold infections likely exert a protective effect against COVID-19.
We found that high levels of pre-existing T cells, created by the body when infected with other human coronaviruses like the common cold, can protect against COVID-19 infection.
Dr Rhia Kundu, study author
During the early days of the pandemic, researchers at Imperial College London analyzed blood samples from 52 participants for T-cell levels. At the time of recruitment, September 2020, most people in the UK had neither been infected nor received a COVID-19 vaccine. 1xbet arabic All 52 participants lived with a PCR-confirmed COVID-19 case and therefore had a history of exposure. They underwent PCR testing on day 0,4 and 7.
A total of 26 people became infected, while the rest did not. The team further compared levels of cross-reactive T-cells among the two groups. According to results, uninfected individuals had higher levels of cross-reactive T-cells. Moreover, these T-cells targeted the internal proteins of the novel coronavirus and not the spike protein.
A New Vaccine Target
According to senior author, Professor Ajit Lalvani, the inner protein targeted by these T-cells is less likely to mutate. Current vaccines target the spike protein present on the surface of the virus. As a result, the spike protein continuously mutates, leading to the emergence of various mutated strains. Therefore, study authors predict that vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2’s internal proteins can likely protect against coronavirus variants.
New vaccines that include these conserved, internal proteins would therefore induce broadly protective T cell responses that should protect against current and future SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Professor Ajit Lalvani, study author
Reference:
Kundu R, Narean JS, Wang L, et al. Cross-reactive memory T cells associate with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in COVID-19 contacts. Nat Commun. 2022;13(1):80. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-27674-x
