Boosting antibody production may provide greater protection against COVID-19 variants, according to a study led by The University of Queensland.
A major challenge in controlling COVID-19 has been how to induce antibodies to recognise and neutralize not only the ancestral virus strain, but also new variant strains.
Dr Zhian Chen, from UQ’s Frazer Institute, said researchers wanted to better understand how humans produce antibodies to help overcome this challenge.
“Cells that create human antibodies are derived from a type of immune cells called B cells,” Dr Chen said.
“These cells travel through a specialised structure within immune organs, such as lymph nodes, to undergo a strict and efficient selection process.
“Only a few B cells eventually become antibody-producing cells.”
Until now, how the human body controls this selection process has not been fully understood.
Dr Chen said this study discovered a new action by a chemical messenger, known as interleukin-21 (IL-21), which instructs B cells during the selection process.
“We found that IL-21 interacts with sugar chains, known as heparan sulfate, on the surface of B cells,” Dr Chen said.
“This dynamic interaction between IL-21-heparan sulfate and B cells helps maintain the efficiency during the selection process used to create antibody-producing cells.
“Vaccines are fundamental for preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19.
“However, the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to rapidly change and current vaccines may not work as well against new disease strains in the future.
“These findings may help in developing strategies for improved vaccinations that can induce antibodies to recognise and neutralize ancestral virus strains and new variant strains, and provide stronger protection against disease.”
This study was primarily conducted in the lab for Systems and Translation Immunology at the Frazer Institute, with the collaborations of Australian National University and Tsinghua University.
Boosting antibody production may provide greater protection against COVID-19 variants, according to a study led by The University of Queensland.
It is published in the journal Science Immunology. DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.add1728
