[ad_1]
The new variant of the coronavirus sweeping the UK is extremely unlikely to escape immune responses generated by vaccines or a previous Covid infection, scientists say.
US researchers have found that antibodies collected from former patients very rarely target parts of the virus mutated in the new variant. Their work suggests that only half a percent of individuals are likely to have reduced protection against the variant, named B.1.1.7.
The findings will come as a relief to scientists and public health officials who feared that vaccines being deployed around the world would be less effective against the new variant and that cases could explode as a result of re-infections.
Based on the new analysis, Akiko Iwasaki, professor of immunobiology at Yale University, said: “The B.1.1.7 variant is unlikely to escape recognition by antibodies generated by a previous infection. by [older versions of the] viruses or vaccines. “
Iwasaki has partnered with Winston Haynes and others at California-based biotech company Serimmune to study how antibodies in the blood of Covid-19 patients target the virus. Antibodies deactivate viruses by sticking to the proteins they come from. Some target continuous strands of protein, like a handful of consecutive words in a sentence, while others cling to chunks of protein that come together when proteins fold and fold.
Scientists collected antibodies from 579 coronavirus patients and examined the continuous strands of viral proteins they were targeting. The vast majority of the antibodies attacked the same “hot spots” of the virus. Importantly, none of the mutations in the new British variant are found in these hot spots, so most people’s antibody defenses will not be weakened.
One of the most important parts of the virus is the spike protein, a strand of 1,273 molecules called amino acids that bind together in a chain. The peak acts as a key for the virus to infect cells and is also the target of most vaccines. In the study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, Iwasaki and his colleagues found that only two people, or 0.3% of patients studied, had antibodies that were less capable to attack the spike protein of the new British variant.
Three patients, or 0.5%, had a weakened antibody response to other parts of the variant. But that might not be a big problem, Iwasaki said, because patients were likely to have other antibodies that targeted the virus’s loops and folds, and other immune defenses that relied on T cells. to attack the pathogen.
The encouraging results come as the new wave of variants in the UK has increased, with the Office for National Statistics reporting on Friday that it now accounted for over 60% of positive tests in England and over 80% in London. The sharp rise in infections has intensified calls for the vaccination program to be rolled out as quickly as possible.
“I think it’s important to get the first few shots to as many people as possible, given the emergence of several more contagious variants on the rise,” Iwasaki said. “The second dose should be given, whenever available, as close as possible to the recommended initial schedule, but a slight delay should not significantly reduce effectiveness. People should wear masks and stay away from crowded indoor gatherings, even after receiving the vaccines. “
Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London who was not involved in the study, said this should come as some comfort to people who feared the new, more transmissible variants found in the UK and South Africa. South, may be resistant to vaccines. He said the work suggested that most people’s antibodies would still neutralize the British and South African variants.
Altmann said: “Many immunologists currently speculate that the central immunological interaction defining the ability to block entry of virus is the generation of highly specific neutralizing antibodies that literally prevent viral infection of human cells. These antibodies are targeted at different shapes of the tip. A huge effort over the past year has been to map these structures in detail so that we may be able to design ever better blocking strategies.
“This new study by Winston Haynes and colleagues is a high-tech next step in that direction. Their highly detailed data sets also offer solace to those who fear that the new British and South African variants may escape neutralizing antibodies, thus decreasing the effectiveness of the vaccines. The study reminds us that neutralization encompasses a wide range of different antibody specifics at different sites, most of which are unaffected by mutations.
Source link
