In a Nature paper published today, scientists from University College London together with collaborators from across the United Kingdom, Europe and Singapore, reported that boosting T cells that target the highly conserved region of the SARS-CoV-2 genome can supplement spike-specific antibodies in next-generation vaccines against emerging coronaviruses.
Putting the findings in simple terms, Professor Antonio Bertoletti from Duke-NUS’ Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, who was one of the senior authors on the paper, explained that the study found that people — in this instance healthcare workers — who had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 but never became infected, nonetheless produced T cells that targeted a protein that is essential in the early stages of the SARS-CoV-2 replication cycle, called polymerase protein.
In fact, what the researchers found, Bertoletti explained, was that in this group, these very specific T cells were not only present but could be made to multiply to abort infection in lab tests.
“Designing vaccines that activate polymerase-specific T cells could add a further layer of protection and be more effective in the early containment of the virus compared to spike-only vaccines as the polymerase protein is synthesised early after infection,” explained Bertoletti in a tweet issued by the School at the time.
What’s more, this protein is highly conserved across different coronaviruses in humans and animals.
“Vaccines that activate polymerase-specific T cells could possibly protect not only from current viruses but also from ones that have yet to emerge,” suggested Bertoletti.