Well, I was writing just the other day about what we dont know about the T-cell response to coronavirus infection, and as of today we know quite a bit more. And from what I can see, we have encouraging news, mixed with some things that were going to need to keep an eye on.
Heres a post from May on a paper in Cell that looked at T cell responses in recovering SARS CoV-2 patients and compared them to reports of people who had been infected with original SARS back in 2003, and to people who had never encountered either. It also has some background on T cells in general, which might be useful if you dont have that info right at the top of your brains queue. Thats the paper that showed that the T-cell response to this virus is less Spike-o-centric than it was to SARS. It also showed that there are, in fact, people who have both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells that recognize protein antigens from the new coronavirus even though they have never been exposed to SARS, MERS, or the new virus. The paper speculated that this might be due to cross-reactivity with proteins from the common cold coronaviruses, and raised the possibility that there might be a part of the population that has at least some existing protection against the current pandemic.
Now comes a new paper in press atNature. It confirms that convalescent patients from the current epidemic show T-cell responses (mostly CD4+ but some CD8+ as well) to various epitopes of the N (nucleocapsid) protein, which the earlier paper had identified as one of the main antigens as well (along with the Spike and M proteins, among others, with differences between the CD4+ and CD8+ responses as well). Turning to patients who had caught SARS back in 2003 and recovered, it is already known (and worried about) that their antibody responses faded within two or three years. But this paper shows that these patients still have (17 years later!) a robust T-cell response to the original SARS coronaviruss N protein, which extends an earlier report of such responses going out to 11 years. This new work finds that these cross-react with the new SARS CoV-2 N protein as well. This makes one think, as many have been wondering, that T-cell driven immunity is perhaps the way to reconcile the apparent paradox between (1) antibody responses that seem to be dropping week by week in convalescent patients but (2) few (if any) reliable reports of actual re-infection. That would be good news indeed.
And turning to patients who have never been exposed to either SARS or the latest SARS CoV-2, this new work confirms that there are people who nonetheless have T cells that are reactive to protein antigens from the new virus. As in the earlier paper, these cells have a different pattern of reactivity compared to people who have recovered from the current pandemic (which also serves to confirm that they truly have not been infected this time around). Recognition of the nsp7 and nsp13 proteins is prominent, as well as the N protein. And when they looked at that nsp7 response, it turns out that the T cells are recognizing particular protein regions that have low homology to those found in the common cold coronaviruses but do have very high homology to various animal coronaviruses.
Very interesting indeed! That would argue that there has been past zoonotic coronavirus transmission in humans, unknown viruses that apparently did not lead to serious disease, which have provided some people with a level of T-cell based protection to the current pandemic. This could potentially help to resolve another gap in our knowledge, as mentioned in that recent post: when antibody surveys come back saying that (say) 95% of a given population does not appear to have been exposed to the current virus, does that mean that all 95% of them are vulnerable or not? Ill reiterate the point of that post here: antibody profiling (while very important) is not the whole story, and we need to know what were missing.
There are still major gaps in our knowledge: how many people have such unknown-coronavirus-induced T-cells? How protective are they? How long-lasting is the T-cell response in people who have been infected with the current SARS CoV-2 virus, and how protective is it in the declining-antibody situation that seems to be common? What sorts of T cell responses will be induced by the various vaccine candidates? We just dont know yet. But were going to find out.
Originally posted here:
New Data on T Cells and the Coronavirus - Science Magazine
- Coronavirus: over 70% of critical care patients in UK are men - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Cholera and coronavirus: why we must not repeat the same mistakes - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- 'If your child is hungry, you will eat your rulers to feed your children' - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Millions Had Risen Out of Poverty. Coronavirus Is Pulling Them Back. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Where did it go wrong for the UK on coronavirus? - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Potential coronavirus vaccine being tested in Germany could 'supply millions' by end of year - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The pandemic and the influencer: will the lifestyle survive coronavirus? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Why Georgia Is Reopening Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Has Sweden's coronavirus strategy played into the hands of nationalists? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus memes: These AI-generated memes are better than ones created by humans - Vox.com [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus spares one neighborhood but ravages the next. Race and class spell the difference. - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Life in Trumps Coronavirus Ghetto - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The Gates aren't pinning their coronavirus hopes on the U.S. - Politico [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- New Coronavirus Test Offers Advantages: Just Spit and Wait - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus is advancing in L.A., retreating in Bay Area - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Trump Brings Religion Into the Coronavirus Culture War - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus in Chicago: How the mayor of the nation's 3rd-largest city is waging her biggest fight - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Number of coronavirus cases from second warship outbreak nears 100 as Navy restricts information on pandemic - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- We the People, in Order to Defeat the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How Coronavirus Mutates and Spreads - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus pandemic in the US: Live updates - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The Coronavirus Still Is a Global Health Emergency, W.H.O. Warns - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- No leadership and no plan: is Trump about to fail the US on coronavirus testing? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Midwest: Coronavirus-Related Restrictions And Reopenings - NPR [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How New Mexico Flattened the Coronavirus Curve - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Rashes, headaches, tingling: the less common coronavirus symptoms that patients have - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Survivors Want Answers, and China Is Silencing Them - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus numbers explained: Why Odisha is seeing a spike in new cases - The Indian Express [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- New Studies Add to Evidence that Children May Transmit the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- In the Fight to Treat Coronavirus, Your Lungs Are a Battlefield - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- New evidence indicates coronavirus was infecting people in Europe and the US before the first official cases were reported - CNN [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- How Will the Coronavirus Change Us? - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus daily news updates, May 9: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the nation - Seattle Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus threatens a guarded tradition for many black Americans: Voting in person - CNN [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Youll Probably Never Know If You Had the Coronavirus in January - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- What We Know About Coronavirus Mutations : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- US falls short in coronavirus testing in some areas of the country - CNN [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Three Children Have Died in N.Y. of Illness Linked to Virus: Live Updates - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Things feel so dark, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says on riots, coronavirus and Midland flooding - MLive.com [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Covid-19: will the governments mixed messages lead to another surge? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- The World Is Still Far From Herd Immunity for Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- How a decade of privatisation and cuts exposed England to coronavirus - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Teaching in the time of coronavirus: Finding creative ways to engage students - The San Diego Union-Tribune [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- These Athletes Had the Coronavirus. Will They Ever Be the Same? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Battered by Coronavirus Outbreak, NYC Finally Moves Toward Reopening - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus Showed How Globalization Broke the World - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- In Some Nations, Coronavirus Is Only One of Many Outbreaks - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus FAQs: Is It Safer To Fly Or Drive? Is Air Conditioning A Threat? - NPR [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus: The mystery of 'silent spreaders' - BBC News [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Utah sees another spike in coronavirus cases, third big day in a row - Salt Lake Tribune [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Its Not Whether You Were Exposed to the Coronavirus. Its How Much. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- A second wave of coronavirus: When it could come, how long it could last and more - CNET [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Growing Data Show Blacks And Latinos Bear The Brunt Of COVID-19 : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Minneapolis, the Coronavirus, and Trumps Failure to See a Crisis Coming - The New Yorker [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Utah is averaging more than 200 new coronavirus cases a day over the past week as hot spots flare up from Logan to St. George - Salt Lake Tribune [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Just 2.3% of new coronavirus test results in Wisconsin were positive the lowest on record - Green Bay Press Gazette [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus Testing: Should I Go For It Even If I Have No Symptoms? : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus in Florida: What you need to know Sunday, June 21 - TCPalm [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- ESPYS honoree Kim Clavel took a break from boxing to fight coronavirus - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Iceland now feels like the coronavirus never happened - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Lessons on Coronavirus Testing From the Adult Film Industry - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Pence Misleadingly Blames Coronavirus Spikes on Rise in Testing - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Putin has a 'disinfection tunnel,' Sweden feels isolated over coronavirus - CNBC [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Texas Governor Says 'No Reason Today To Be Alarmed' As Coronavirus Cases Set Record - NPR [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- What it means to come into close contact with a coronavirus case and your risk of infection - CNBC [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus runs through crowded homes and must-do jobs, hitting people of color hard - San Francisco Chronicle [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- NJ hits top ranking in coronavirus analysis, showing positive trends and signs of hope - NorthJersey.com [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus surges arent linked to one single cause - The Register-Guard [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Tens of thousands of Britons have died from coronavirus. But Boris Johnson is stoking a culture war. - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- High risk of coronavirus second wave as Australian shops and workplaces reopen, report says - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Florida sets another single-day coronavirus case record with nearly 4,000 infections - Tampa Bay Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- U.S. banks are 'swimming in money' as deposits increase by $2 trillion amid the coronavirus - CNBC [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus shuts down Crowbar, the Orpheum and Skippers Smokehouse - Tampa Bay Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Global report: Trump says he ordered coronavirus testing to 'slow down' - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Russia reopens ahead of Victory Day and Putin referendum -- but coronavirus threat remains - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- In Beijing it looked like coronavirus was gone. Now we're living with a second wave - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus Live News and Updates - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Flushing the Toilet May Fling Coronavirus Aerosols All Over - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus: What's happening around the world Monday - CBC.ca [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus could die out on its own, according to Italian expert: Report - silive.com [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]