A new study led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) suggests that T cells try to fight SARS-CoV-2 by targeting a broad range of sites on the virus–beyond the key sites on the virus’s spike protein. By attacking the virus from many angles, the body has the tools to potentially recognize different SARS-CoV-2 variants.
The new research, published January 27, 2021 in Cell Report Medicine, is the most detailed analysis so far of which proteins on SARS-CoV-2 stimulate the strongest responses from the immune system’s “helper” CD4+ T cells and “killer” CD8+ T cells.
“We are now armed with the knowledge of which parts of the virus are recognized by the immune system,” says LJI Professor Alessandro Sette, Dr. Biol. Sci., who co-led the new study with LJI Instructor Alba Grifoni, Ph.D.