- A coronavirus immunity study confirmed recent research that said a simple common cold could harbor an immune defense that would still be active in fighting COVID-19, and it has nothing to do with the neutralizing antibodies that appear after the infection.
- The immune system produces T cells that can remember pathogens, like the other human coronaviruses that cause regular colds. These T cells have been found to provide some protection against COVID-19.
- Dr Anthony Fauci said the findings were promising, explaining exactly how the immune response works when dealing with each pathogen, SARS-CoV-2 included.
A few days ago, a study said that a previous infection with one of the other human coronaviruses responsible for the common cold could give some people COVID-19 immunity. The initial infection that causes a regular cold would produce T cells, which could then recognize the new coronavirus and accelerate the immune response against COVID-19. This could explain why some people develop small versions of COVID-19 while others experience severe symptoms. The study is consistent with other studies released this year and may be useful in COVID-19 immunity research in the coming years, especially as vaccines arrive.
Previously, a study showed that neutralizing antibodies produced after infection with SARS-CoV-2 would disappear from the immune system, raising some concerns that reinfection could be possible in the short term. But researchers explain the dual defense mechanism of the immune system that consists of making both antibodies and T cells that can remember the pathogen. Some of the vaccine candidates that have reached the final stage of clinical trials have elicited both neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses in volunteers, which is a promising development for long-lasting immunity.
Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed the new study that explained how common colds could induce COVID-19 immunity, and explained coronavirus immunity the way it should be done from the beginning.
Fauci said of the new study that it could explain why some people do not have COVID-19 symptoms after they become infected, while others require hospitalization and death risks.
“One of the things I do not think is very important during the trial, scientifically, the COVID-19 outbreak, and vaccine development and testing, is that we have concentrated very exclusively on the antibody test,” Fauci said. McClatchy about the immunity study. “There is another equally important component of the immune system.”
Published in Science, the study was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) that Fauci has led for more than three decades.
“If you look at it metaphorically as an army with different levels of defense, the antibodies prevent it from entering the virus. That’s like the first line of defense,” Fauci explained. “For those viruses that escape and infect some cells, the T cells come in and kill the cells that are infected or block them.”
A virologist at Columbia University used the same army analogy to differentiate the neutralizing antibodies from the T cells that can kill both infected cells and initiate the production of more antibodies. “Not one of our soldiers is trained for that,” Rasmussen said. ‘But the discovery of the T-cell suggests that, perhaps, the cavalry is indeed prepared for this virus. Maybe they already know a little bit about how to combat it. And maybe that helps the whole army resist the invading virus. ”
“It’s scientifically a piece of good news, because otherwise we are completely naive to this virus and it is completely new,” she said. “If there is anything that can give us an advantage in fighting, even in our own bodies and immune system, that is great news to me and is very promising.”
Fauci warned that T cells do not live forever, and this could explain why some patients have a delayed immune response to the infection. “It’s something like a punch of two,” Fauci said. ‘It’s thought that the T cells you made a reaction to a few years ago – three, four, five years ago – when you were exposed to a relatively benign coronavirus that caused the cold could actually surround , and when exposed to SARS-Coronavirus-2, may have some protection. ”
Someone who has not been exposed to a common coronavirus for decades may not have the same T-cell memory as a person who regularly develops colds.
Bill Gates also commented on the weekend, telling CNN that exposure to other coronaviruses may explain the differences between different regions of the world. “Within a few months, we will really understand this,” Gates said, adding that the prevalence of wearing clubs in Asia could have increased the T-immunity of the population. “They probably had this cross-protection, which meant that the spread of the disease there was not so strong.”
More research is needed to determine exactly how these T cells work in COVID-19 and how they affect the prognosis of infection.
Chris Smith began writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it, he was sharing his views on tech things with readers all over the world. Every time he does not write about gadgets, he manages to get away with it, even though he tries desperately. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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