LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Rare, naturally occurring T cells could be the key to longer-lasting COVID-19 vaccines, according to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles.
While most vaccines use part of the coronavirus’ spike protein to prompt the immune system to produce antibodies, it’s unclear how effective the vaccines will be against virus variants with spike protein mutations — like Delta and Omicron.
Working with T cells, researchers with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have found they are capable of targeting a protein found in SARS-CoV-2.
“Findings suggest that a component of this protein, called viral polymerase, could potentially be added to COVID-19 vaccines to create a longer-lasting immune response and increase protection against new variants of the virus,” researchers said in a statement.
With their mutations, variants like Delta and Omicron could become less visible to antibodies produced following vaccination, researchers said. Their suggestion is to “add a fragment of a different viral protein to vaccines … that will activate the immune system’s T cells.
Those cells come equipped with receptors that recognize antigens, leading them to replicate and produce immune cells to kill the recognized antigen.
Researchers focused on the viral polymerase protein for two reasons. One, it’s found in many coronaviruses — including those that cause COVID-19, SARS and the common cold. Two, unlike the spike protein of a virus, the protein is very unlikely to mutate.
Knowing the above, teaching T cells to recognize the protein could prove effective in future vaccines, researchers found.
“More than five million people have died from COVID-19 worldwide. Current vaccines provide significant protection against severe disease, but as new, potentially more contagious variants emerge, researchers recognize that vaccines may need to be updated,” researchers said.
“The new UCLA findings point toward a strategy that may help increase protection and long-term immunity. The researchers are now conducting further studies to evaluate viral polymerase as a potential new vaccine component.”
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