Time: 2024-07-17
An article published in the journal Cell describes a study that enabled a group of researchers to discover how SARS - CoV-2 evades the cytotoxic immune response by identifying a protein called ORF6 that is a key factor in this mechanism.
The study was led by Wilfredo Garcia - Beltran and Julie Boucau , research scientists at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital ( MGH ) , Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) and Harvard University in the United States . The first authors of the article are Marcella Cardoso , a Brazilian postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School ( HMS ) and MGH , and Jordan Hartmann , also of HMS . Scientists affiliated with institutions in Brazil and Germany also took part.
"We discovered that SARS - CoV-2 is able to evade detection by the immune system by diminishing the vestiges that point to the presence of the virus in cells . In this process , the virus disturbs certain proteins on the surface of infected cells to inhibit interaction between them and T - lymphocytes , " Cardoso explained.
Defense cells known as natural killers ( NKs ) are fundamental to detect and combat viruses . They are part of the innate immune response , the first barrier against infection . NKG2D , a protein expressed on the surface of NKs , recognizes and kills infected cells ( and cancer cells ) by targeting stress - induced ligands released by the infection , such as MIC - A and MIC - B.
Samples collected at UNICAMP 's general and teaching hospital displayed greater diversity of clinical outcomes in response to the action of different strains of the virus . " In parallel , we conducted in vitro experiments in which lung tissue cells were infected with the live virus , " Cardoso said.
In light of recent preclinical oncological trials showing that monoclonal antibody 7C6 can prevent elimination of MIC - A and -B , the researchers decided to see if it would also be effective to curtail evasion of the immune system by the virus.
"We expected this approach to not only stimulate elimination of infected cells but also increase co - stimulation of CD8 + T cells , thus activating both the innate and adaptive immune systems , " Cardoso explained.
The results open up research fronts in the field of host - directed antiviral therapies since the discovery of the role played by the antibody 7C6 in boosting the elimination of cells infected by SARS - CoV-2 also points to possible innovative therapeutic strategies.
The So Paulo Research Foundation ( FAPESP ) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships , fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of So Paulo , Brazil . FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally.
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