Yes, children mostly produced Abs aimed at #Spike protein, which the virus uses to enter cells. Adults generate similar Abs, but also develop Abs against the #Nucleocapsid protein, which is essential for viral replication 2/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33154590/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33154590/
#Nucleocapsid protein is typically released in significant quantities only when a virus is widespread in the body.
What does it mean? The kids lacked nucleocapsid-specific Abs, which suggests that they aren’t experiencing widespread infection. 3/
What does it mean? The kids lacked nucleocapsid-specific Abs, which suggests that they aren’t experiencing widespread infection. 3/
Children’s immune responses seem to be able to eliminate the virus before it replicates in large numbers.
The reason children can neutralize the virus is that their #Tcells are relatively #naive & untrained, they might have a greater capacity to respond to new viruses 4/
The reason children can neutralize the virus is that their #Tcells are relatively #naive & untrained, they might have a greater capacity to respond to new viruses 4/
However, #memory T-cell responses are much less developed in children than in adults. Furthermore, they also have a strong #innate immune response from birth. 5/
When children are exposed to the virus, they receive a smaller dose than adults, because their noses contain fewer #ACE2 receptors, which the virus uses to gain access to cells. This might also explain why #COVID19 is less prevalent in children than in adults. 6/
BOTTOMLINE: It is unlikely that there is a single explanation for why #COVID19 seems to affect children less than adults. Biology is rarely so straightforward. 7/end
nature.com/articles/d4158…
nature.com/articles/d4158…
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