Could help T-cell scientists create "Holy Grail" from the common cold: an alternative-proof covid vaccine. LONDON - Researchers from Imperial College London in the UK told CBS News that T cells produced as part of the body's normal immune system in a cold cough may help protect against serious illness from Covid-19. Scientists have developed a vaccine that is more effective against new forms of coronavirus.
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| T-cells from common colds could help scientists make the "Holy Grail": A variant-proof COVID vaccine |
Are Omicron's symptoms different from other forms of covid?
The investigation, which was peer-reviewed and published in the journal Nature Communications, began in September 2020 and examined the identities of 52 families who tested positive for Covid-19. He found that 26 people who came in contact with the coronavirus but did not get sick had significantly more cross-reacting T cells caused by the previous cold cough than those who got sick with covid.
T-cells from common colds could help scientists make the "Holy Grail": A variant-proof COVID vaccine
Don't rely on it. "Exploit" it.
Professor Aljit Lalvani, one of the authors of the study, told CBS News: "The conclusion should not be that if you have a cold, you don't have to worry about getting infected with COVID-19."
This is for a number of reasons: Not all colds are caused by the coronavirus, and the ability of T cells to fight major infections declines over time.
"What the study tells us is that there is a mechanism, a natural mechanism of natural immune immunity, caused by previous cold infection with the coronavirus… So the key is not to trust it, but to take it in and act on it." a natural way. Advanced vaccines Defensive immunity develops.”
Lalvani said most of the current COVID-19 vaccines specifically target the virus spike protein, which it uses to attach to healthy human cells. Vaccines produce antibodies and T cells in the body that respond to these proteins. It has so far provided good protection against coronaviruses, but with Omicron, multiple mutations in the spike protein can make vaccines less effective.
Lalvani says research at Imperial College has shown that T cells produced after a cold from other (common) coronaviruses attack a type of protein similar to known variants of COVID-19. These endogenous proteins are responsible for the replication of the virus without attaching it to the external cell. This important role in the evolution of the virus makes it much less likely to change, he explained.
Lalvani told CBS News, "(T lymphocytes) can attack the internal proteins of each of these related viruses [COVID-19 variant], which means they have broad cross-protection," unlike the surface of the protein. advanced, which is vaccinated with induced targeted antibodies. And obviously, SARS-CoV-2 is under tremendous and intense pressure in the world population, as most people now have these antibodies, vaccinated or infected. , so that the virus mutates naturally to avoid this immunity. He's trying, which is why Omicron's spike protein has so many mutations. But the internal protein is relatively unchanged. "
Lalvani said the study is expected to influence how scientists approach the development of the covid vaccine in the future.
"The final green light now is to move forward and create a vaccine that induces T cells into the inner core protein, which will protect them from current and future forms," he said. "We are very fortunate that immunologists have found what we call the 'Holy Grail', so we people can't wait to understand it and see that, finally, there is a way to approach future forms."
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