The response of T cells to viral mutants remains strong. Asthma does not pose a serious COVID-19 risk | Mighty 790 KFGO

Nancy Rapid

(Reuters)-The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific research on the new coronavirus and efforts to find cures and vaccines for the virus-induced disease COVID-19.

The immune system T cell response to the mutant remains strong

Anxious coronavirus mutants identified in Brazil, South Africa, and California have mutations that may help resist antibody therapy and vaccines, but the immune system’s T-cell response to the mutants is restored. It is not affected by patients who have been mutated or who received Moderna Inc or Pfizer. Inc / BioMTech SE vaccine, new data show. “I think this is really good news,” said Alessandro Sette of the Lahora Institute for Immunology. His team reported the findings on bioRxiv on Monday prior to peer review. Vaccine-induced T cells can recognize fragments of virus-spiked proteins, whereas previous infection-induced T cells recognize multiple parts of the virus, including spikes and other proteins. “These parts haven’t changed / changed much in the variant,” he explained. “This means that the T cell response recognizes” ancestral “sequences and mutants equally well. Circulating memory T cells probably cannot prevent infection, but they may reduce the severity of COVID-19, he added. T-cell responses are known to be associated with milder COVID-19 and contribute to limiting the severity of COVID-19 induced by mutants that partially or largely escape neutralizing antibodies. He said he could. (Https://bit.ly/384IAMo)

Asthma does not increase the risk of COVID-19

Asthma itself is not a risk factor for hospitalization or more severe COVID-19, and people who are allergic to asthma are actually at risk, according to a new study presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Virtual Annual Meeting. May be low. Researchers at Stanford University surveyed 5,596 patients who were COVID-19-positive between March and September 2020. Of these, 11% were hospitalized, 100 of whom were asthmatics. “Asthma was no longer a risk factor for hospitalization,” said Dr. Lauren Egert, after considering other medical conditions in patients associated with more serious COVID-19 diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Stated. Among the hospitalized patients, asthma was not significantly associated with the severity of the disease, she said. Researchers have also found that patients with allergic asthma may require hospitalization in nearly half of patients with other types of asthma. In allergic asthma, Egart may explain that the immune system “down-regulates” or reduces the production of ACE2 protein on the cell surface, which is the main entry point for coronavirus. (Https://bit.ly/3reYR9j)

Antibodies to mutants may provide cross-protection

Antibodies to newer, more infectious coronavirus mutants may prevent infection by previous mutants, laboratory studies suggest. In a test tube experiment, researchers studied the neutralizing effect of antibodies obtained from people infected with COVID-19 in the first wave of the South African pandemic, where early versions of the virus prevailed, from the second wave. New variants were predominant in the survivors of the virus, which were more infectious and difficult to treat. The first wave antibody neutralized the first wave virus, but not the second wave virus. As expected, the second wave antibody neutralized the second wave virus. They also neutralized the first-wave virus, albeit less powerful, according to a paper submitted to medRxiv on Saturday prior to peer review. At a press conference on Wednesday, Alex Cigar, co-author of the African Institute for Health, said the findings show that vaccines based on this variant come from this variant and other variants that are prevalent around the world. He said it would provide hope that it could be protected. Pfizer, AstraZeneca Plc, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna have already developed vaccines based on the variants identified in South Africa. By the end of 2021, Salim Abdool Karim, COVID-19’s top government adviser, predicted that most vaccine manufacturers would adapt shots accordingly. (Https://bit.ly/3rhXJSq; https://reut.rs/2MHJaZ8)

UK finds vaccines protect older people

UK Public Health Services quoted a study published in medRxiv prior to peer review on Monday that Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are more than 80% effective in preventing COVID-19 hospitalization in people over 80 years of age. Said there is. A UK study found that two doses of Pfizer vaccine were about 85% to 90% effective in preventing symptomatological disorders in people over the age of 70. Pfizer vaccine recipients of that age group who developed symptomatic infections had a 44% lower risk of hospitalization and a 51% lower risk of death compared to unvaccinated patients. Since the double-dose AstraZeneca vaccine was just introduced, researchers had only post-single-dose data. The effect on symptomatological diseases ranged from about 60% to 75%, and there was also a protective effect on hospitalization, the researchers said. They said that while data on AstraZeneca were collected, more infectious variants predominate in the United Kingdom. The use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the elderly in the United Kingdom is in contrast to many European countries that state lack of clinical trial data on the decision not to use it in the elderly. (Https://bit.ly/3rktaLW; https://reut.rs/3kKIEX4)

For Reuters graphics on vaccines under development, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl in an external browser.

(Report by Nancy Rapid, Megan Brooks, Kate Keland, Alexander Winning, edited by Bill Berklot)