2) The study investigated how previous vaccination with mRNA vaccines targeting the original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2 affects the immune response to infection with the Omicron variant.
3) Three groups of individuals were studied: 1) unvaccinated individuals infected with Omicron, 2) individuals vaccinated 3 times who were later infected with Omicron, 3) individuals vaccinated 3 times but uninfected.
4) Vaccination increased plasma antibodies and neutralizing antibodies against Omicron, but it impaired the generation of new antibodies and B cells targeting mutated regions of the Omicron spike protein compared to unvaccinated infected individuals.
5) T cell responses to mutated regions of the Omicron spike protein were similar between vaccinated infected/uninfected individuals and unvaccinated infected individuals, likely due to higher cross-reactivity of T cells.
6) The findings suggest vaccination imprints the immune response and hinders the formation of antibodies and B cells targeting variants that have mutated sufficiently from the original strain.
7) This antigenic imprinting effect of vaccination could lead to a phenomenon called "original antigenic sin", whereby immunity fails to control a highly mutated variant that escapes existing vaccine-induced immunity.
8) The study highlights the importance of developing variant-adapted vaccines that can induce immune responses targeting both conserved and mutated regions of emerging variants.
Why is Identifying "Non-Trivial SARS-CoV-2 Population Structure within Hosts" Important for Understanding SARS-COV-2 Evolution and the Emergence of New Variants?
2) The "non-trivial population structure" refers to the viral population within a host consisting of two or more distinct, independently evolving subpopulations, rather than a single, homogeneous population.
3) The key points about non-trivial population structure are:
βΆοΈ It was relatively common, found in 5 out of the 9 chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection cases examined.
βΆοΈ It was more prevalent in severely immunocompromised individuals compared to those not significantly immunocompromised
2) Viruses are not living things. They are tiny particles that can only make copies of themselves inside the cells of living things, like humans. When a virus makes copies of itself, it doesn't always make perfect copies.
3) Sometimes, little mistakes happen, and the new virus has a small change, or mutation, in its genes.
Most of the time, these mutations don't do anything useful for the virus. But every now and then, a mutation might happen that makes the virus better at infecting people.
2) This study looks at the risks of COVID-19 for people traveling to space.
Space travel is becoming more common, with over 600 people having gone to space. But COVID-19 could be a big problem for astronauts in the unique environment of space.
3) The study aims to understand how COVID-19 might behave differently in space compared to on Earth.
The researchers reviewed studies on other airborne diseases in space. They found that some diseases, like Epstein-Barr virus and Serratia bacteria ...
From Lung Damage to Gut Dysbiosis:
The Lasting Implications of SARS-CoV-2 Variant-Specific Microbiome Changes (From Wuhan strain to Omicron) labanimres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11β¦
2) The Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2 caused serious damage to the lungs of infected mice. The mice had a very high chance of dying from this strain. The researchers also looked at the bacteria in the lungs and guts of the infected mice.
3) The Wuhan strain increased harmful bacteria like E. coli in the lungs. This can make the lungs more prone to other infections.
The Omicron variant caused different changes in the gut bacteria of the mice. It increased certain bacteria linked to inflammation in the gut.
What are GAMMA CORONAVIRUSES ?
And why did we decide to talk about it?
2) A brief reminder :
βΆοΈ SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the family Coronaviridae, is classified as a coronavirus and is responsible for COVID-19
βΆοΈ Bird Flu refers to various strains of the influenza virus, particularly those in the Orthomyxoviridae family including H5N1 and H7N9.
3) βΆοΈ Gammacoronavirus belongs to the family Coronaviridae like SARS-COV-2.
Some notable gammacoronaviruses include:
- Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV): A major pathogen in poultry responsible for respiratory disease and reduced egg production.
A TREATMENT that Could Finally END Long COVID Suffering ?
This isn't the first time a treatment has been announced, and as millions continue to struggle with long Covid, we need to remain both cautious and hopeful π€
2) Researchers at WEHI announced that they discovered a new drug that can stop long COVID symptoms in mice. This drug is more effective than the current top treatment, Paxlovid, for both long COVID and acute COVID cases.
3) They focused on a specific protein called PLpro that other treatments haven't targeted well. This breakthrough could lead to new medicines for long COVID, a condition where people continue to feel sick long after their COVID-19 infection.