Antibodies are actually supposed to protect against infections with viruses. But now researchers have also found autoantibodies in corona patients that attack the immune system.
New Haven – In some people, the corona virus causes only simple cold symptoms, in others it causes serious lung diseases. Why people are affected so differently by the disease is still the subject of research into the corona virus. Now researchers at the American University of Yale have found another possible explanation for this and theirs Results in the renowned journal Nature released. They measured a greater number of autoantibodies in corona patients that are suspected of weakening the immune system. Some of the patients had high levels of these autoantibodies even before the infection.
Antibodies are actually an important part of the immune system – also in the fight against the corona virus. They play a role in some corona tests as well as in vaccinations against the virus. However, some types of antibodies are also responsible for allergies or autoimmune diseases. Autoantibodies also belong to these problematic antibodies.
What are antibodies and how do they help against the corona virus?
The human immune system consists of several different mechanisms of action, Antibodies are an important part of it. They mark “enemies”, for example foreign cells such as the corona virus, so that other parts of the immune system can find the virus and destroy it.
Antibodies react to a corona virus. The characteristic Y-shape of the antibodies and the antigens on the outer shell of the virus can be recognized. (Illustration)
© imago-images
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It works like this: cells have a characteristic structure on their surface, the antigens. Antigen is an abbreviation for “antibody generator ”, in German: antibody producer. Antigens got their name because antibodies can dock onto them using the lock and key principle: A certain type of antibody only fits a certain type of antigen.
Antibodies, for example, attach to the antigens of corona viruses and thus ensure that the immune system recognizes and fights the pathogens.
How do antibody tests against the corona virus work?
Since antibodies have this important function in the fight against the virus, they can also be used to measure whether a virus disease has already survived. If that is the case, there should be a lot of inactive antibodies (keys) in the body because there are no more suitable antigens (locks) for them. This is exactly what antibody tests check for. Whether and how reliable such tests are is again an issue in itself.
What do corona vaccines have to do with antibodies?
Both vector and mRNA vaccines cause the body to make virus proteins (antigens) so that the body makes antibodies against them. (Illustration)
© dpa-infographic
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Regardless of whether it is an mRNA vaccine from Biontech and Moderna or a vector vaccine from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson *, they all want one thing: antibodies for the corona virus. The vaccines therefore produce antigens of the corona virus in different ways. This is supposed to help the body make antibodies against the virus and train the immune system for future infections.
What do autoantibodies do in connection with the corona virus?
Researchers at Yale University have now examined the blood of 194 corona patients and found an increased number of so-called autoantibodies. That also reports that Medical journal. In contrast to antibodies such as those provoked by corona vaccinations, autoantibodies do not mark “enemies” in the body, but rather the body’s own cells. This is why these autoantibodies also play an important role in autoimmune diseases. But what does that mean for Corona now?
As the Ärzteblatt writes, the Yale researchers found autoantibodies against interferons in the blood of corona patients. Interferons are proteins that have an antiviral effect, and play an important role in the fight against infection. The autoantibodies can ensure that the immune system fights the interferons and thus weaken the body’s immune response to the corona virus and cause the corona disease to progress more severely. The researchers have already been able to show this in animal experiments.
The exact relationship between the autoantibodies determined after the corona infection and the course of the disease is still unclear. Some of the autoantibodies may already have been present in the corona patients examined. Whether their presence is an indicator of severe disease has to be investigated further. And it is also not yet clear whether the autoantibodies are related to Long-Covid after the disease has subsided.
*op-online.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
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