Page 2 - Memoryb Cells News Today

Over time, the protective power of a COVID-19 vaccination (or recovery) goes down. Could an antibody test tell you by how much?

Researchers from the University of Minnesota focused on the creation of memory B cells, which are vital to creating the antibodies needed to fight off the virus.

Joe. i dont think there is a yes or no answer there. antibodies, you can draw blood and you can look in the serum or the plasma. we do have in the body something a little more difficult and inconvenience to measure because there is more technology. memory b. cells thatll whine up making the antibodies. the antibody level links pretty well with the level of protection. regardless of what laboratory parameters you use, when you see people who have been vaccinated and you look over and see the leve...

The team examined certain memory B cells from COVID-19 convalescent donors. Memory B cells are white blood cells that recognize and respond to pathogens that have tried to attack the body during a previous encounter.

Over a year into the pandemic, questions around immune responses after COVID continue to confound. One question many people are asking is whether the immunity you get from contracting COVID and recovering is enough to protect you in the future. The answer is no, it’s not. Here’s why. Remind me, how does our immune response work? Immune responses are innate or acquired. Innate, or short-term immunity, occurs when immune cells that are the body’s first line of defence are activated against ...

>> and then we can work out the booster with the fda and cdc at a later time. >> well, let me ask you that. because at what poimnt do you think a booster would be needed? initially i think they said six to ten months or eight to ten months. if people got vaccinated in april, which is when more people were able to get vaccinated, that would push a booster to when, sometime in the fall? >> yeah. the issue is we havent really, weve not really seen strong evidence of declining immunity. in part, bec...

>> we should actually though relatively soon. those clinical trial participant s last summer are still being stud discussed. so well see if boosters or if they are having waning immunity, if boosters will be required. i think most likely that they will be required, but we dont know if it will be a year, two years or three years. and i come back to the vaccines are highly effective and that often these tests are measuring antibody response but our immune system is very complex. there are memory b...

>> so some of the other ones that i mentioned, as well as other viruses like hiv, its already documented that they had animal origins. but sars took about ten years to figure out where it came from. so i dont think were going to have the answers any time soon. but we really need to know as many details as possible. >> okay. lots of talk about booster shots. whats next? theres a trial that is set to launch that will tell us if people can mix and match their shots. when do you think the american p...

That the vaccination focus should not be on those who have already had covid. for example, a study from monash university in melbourne, australia shows people already infected will make antibodies for most of their lives. the study found two key things. one is so-called memory b cells patrolled the blood looking for reinfection and two, bone marrow cells produce antibodies for decades. studies from israel in the u.k. have similar findings. in the meantime, talk about missing the forest for the t...

The Atlantic The virus is evolving, but the antibodies that fight it can change, too. Getty / Mark Harris To locate some of the world’s most superpowered cells, look no further than the human immune system. The mission of these hometown heroes is threefold: Memorize the features of dangerous microbes that breach the body’s barriers. Launch an attack to bring them to heel. Then squirrel away intel to quash future assaults. The immune system is comprehensive, capable of dueling with just abou...