Antibody from Cold Can Neutralize COVID-19 and Could Lead to Vaccine Against All Coronaviruses
martyb writes:
Antibody from cold can neutralize COVID-19 and could lead to vaccine against all coronaviruses:
Both the common cold and SARS-CoV-2 fall under a family known as coronaviruses, which cause upper-respiratory tract illnesses.
However, it was believed that antibodies that react to ordinary coronaviruses didn't work against the virus that leads to COVID.
But in blood samples of COVID survivors, researchers found high levels of immune cells generated during the common cold that 'remember' diseases and are called back into action if the threat returns.
The team, from the Scripps Research Institute, in La Jolla, California, says the findings could help scientists develop a vaccine or antibody treatment that protects against all coronaviruses.
The team found the antibody is produced by a type of immune system cell known as a memory B cell.
Memory B cells lock onto the surface of invading pathogens and mark them for destruction by other immune cells.
They also can circulate in the bloodstream for years - even decades - and the immune system can call up on them if there is another infection.
[...] Results showed that levels of memory B cell antibodies were higher in blood samples of people who had been infected with COVID-19 than those who never had been.
Journal Reference:
Ge Song, Wan-ting He, Sean Callaghan, et al. Cross-reactive serum and memory B-cell responses to spike protein in SARS-CoV-2 and endemic coronavirus infection [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23074-3)
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