A new Corona study shows that the stronger immune response of recovered individuals is not only due to the spike protein of coronaviruses.
For those recovered from Covid-19, partial SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is sufficient. According to an Austrian study of healthcare professionals, this is also due to a strong cellular immune response and antibodies not only against the spike protein of the covid-19 pathogens.
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The scientific investigation was conducted by Innsbruck and Linz scientists from the respective university hospitals and the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Mucosal Immunology (Johannes Kepler University/Linz), respectively.
Alexander Moschen (CD Laboratory) and the co-authors now wrote in EbioMedicine (Aug. 11) in the study published online, “In recent months, numerous health care workers have contracted covid-19 through infection in the workplace. This has led to significant staff shortages among medical and nursing personnel. We investigated how prior exposure to Covid-19 affects SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and how this could be leveraged for ‘parsimonious’ vaccination strategies.”
The study included 41 members of the health care staff at Linz University Hospital. Fourteen of them had been previously ill, and 27 had not had SARS-CoV-2 infection. The scientists examined the status of antibody formation before and after vaccination with BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine). In addition, cellular immune defense via T and B cells was also assessed. This is the second “arm” of the defense response.
Better neutralization of viral particles
The results were pretty clear. According to the study authors, “In vaccinees with prior covid-19 disease, even the first dose of vaccine produced a high concentration of antibodies – roughly comparable to that seen after the second vaccination of seronegatives (not previously ill; note). This caused better neutralization of virus particles (…).”
Two detailed results were interesting: The strength of neutralization power of antibodies from recovered persons was higher than can be expected from immune response to vaccination with mRNA antigens of Pfizer/BionTEch vaccine alone. After all, it is based solely on a defense reaction against the spike protein of the pathogens. “In addition, the immune response of T cells was stronger and particularly potent against the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 in those who received the gene,” the study abstract states.
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This supports the hypothesis that covid-19 disease provides an advantage through immune system contact with various antigens (e.g., spike and nucleocapsid proteins) of the entire virus. In the end, this also supports the development of at least inactivated covid-19-based vaccines because this is closer to a “natural” infection.
.. source: k.at/picture: pixabay.com
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