by Health Editorial Staff
New study conducted on experimental models by researchers at the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan: the protection also extends to new variants of SARS-CoV-2
T lymphocytes, immune defenses induced by a previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 or by vaccination, are sufficient to protect people from Covid even without the mediation of the “more classic” antibodies and recognize new variants of the virus.
This was shown by a new study carried out at the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, published today in the scientific journal Nature Immunology. «The results of our study change the traditional understanding of immunity and demonstrate the importance of including the immune response mediated by T lymphocytes in the monitoring of responses to vaccinations and in the development strategies of new vaccines», underlines Professor Matteo Iannacone, director of the Division of Immunology, Transplants and Infectious Diseases of the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital and professor of General Pathology at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, coordinator of the research, which also saw the participation of professors Luca Guidotti, deputy scientific director, and Marco Bianchi , head of the chromatin dynamics unit (both of the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital) and Raffaele De Francesco, head of the Virology laboratory at the National Institute of Molecular Genetics and Professor of Microbiology at the University of Milan.
What are T lymphocytes
T cells are a component of the immune system as are antibodies. They constitute the “first line” of defense that manages the attack of viruses and their task is to “tell” other cell populations, the B cells, to act as antibodies.
There are many types of T cells, usually some of them solve the problem of external viruses by killing the infected cell. T cells recognize different pieces of the virus than “classic” antibodies (which we measure with serological tests) and are equally fundamental for the memory of the infection. They could also be a better indicator than antibodies, because some studies have shown how approximately Twice as many people have developed T-cell immunity than those whose “classical” antibodies we can detect with serological tests.
Protected for a long time
«We have observed how a certain subgroup of T lymphocytes, called CD8+, are crucial in combating serious infections, while the so-called CD4+ T lymphocytes play a complementary role in milder infections, with a significant role played by interferon-gamma (IFN-γ )», declares Dr. Valeria Fumagalli, researcher and first author of the study. «The indication for vaccination remains the fundamental element for protecting the population from serious disease, and our research demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach also for protection against reinfections caused by viral variants», underlines and concludes Iannacone.
March 14, 2024 (modified March 14, 2024 | 12:13)
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