Unappreciated virus
The number of people affected by COVID-19 may have been grossly underestimated.
What T lymphocytes?
T lymphocytes, or T cells, are the body's main weapon, secreted from white blood cells in the bone marrow to kill viruses when the immune system needs extra help.They play an important role in the acquired immune response.Recognition and destruction of cells carrying foreign antigens enhances the action of monocytes, and more.
The main function of T cells is to respond to pathogens previously unknown to the body's immune system.Once the T cells recognize the antigen, they become activated.actively divide to form a clone of the virus.
What did the scientists find out?
Scientists said that three-quarters of people who live in and are in constant contactWith a coronavirus patient, they can develop their own reaction to the virus without the need for antibodies.
After the research, expertsfound: six out of eight subjects who came into contact with infected COVID-19 showed negative results when tested for antibodies to coronavirus in their blood.
But when scientists tested blood samples for immunity, T cells — part of the body's deep defenses againstinfections, leukocytes in the bone marrow — they found that they had actually had COVID-19 with mild symptoms.
How does the emergence of new immunity occur?
The immune system of some patients appears to be "cleaved" due to their response to the virus. As a result, those who do not have antibodies in their blood react to the virus with T-lymphocytes, immunologists said.
New coronavirus checks
Latest Study Opens Up Prospects for New Coronavirus Tests That Will BeSuch a system is similar to TB tests, with the ability for a single laboratory to treat hundreds of patients and get effective results within two days.
Exposure to coronavirus can induce virus-specific T-cell responses without producing antibodies.T-cell responses may be more sensitive indicators of SARS-Co-V-2 exposure than antibodies.This is important because it will help doctors track cases of infection more accurately.
How was the study conducted?
Against the backdrop of the current COVID-19 pandemic,serological tests to assess the past infection and immunity against SARS-CoV-2. This knowledge is of paramount importance for determining the dynamics of transmission of the coronavirus in the post-pandemic period. Several people from the "infected zones" reported symptoms of COVID-19, but their results showed no antibodies in the body.
Latest study done at the hospitalUniversity of Strasbourg in France, studied seven families. They were chosen because their blood tests for coronavirus seemed unusual to experts.
Six out of eight contacts developedSARS-CoV-2 specific T cell response to structural and / or accessory proteins, which lasts up to 80 days after symptom onset. This indicates a previous infection with COVID-19.
The study includes a small sample andnot yet reviewed, but is being carefully studied by immunologists. Leading scientists have already said: there is growing evidence that immunity to COVID-19 looks unusual, since some people only show immunity in the form of T cells, "memory" cells.
The normal response to the virus would be the presence of antibodies in the blood.
Is there any reason for concern?
This study means that a largethe number of people infected and having mild symptoms may respond differently to the virus, which makes them “silent” carriers and immune to the coronavirus. They cannot currently be diagnosed as having been exposed to COVID-19 using current tests.
Scientists warn that epidemiological data based only on the detection of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 could lead to a significant underestimation of the previous exposure to the virus.
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