https://advances.massgeneral.org/research-and-innovation/article-external.aspx?id=1144&utm_medium=email&utm_source=marketo-providers&utm_campaign=FY21-obgynadvances-31jul2021-covid19&mkt_tok=MzI5LVpFTS0zNDEAAAF-mzcl3i-W4zVM5ffLidDmN5Z2V40HPwtMGs_zZiPPtm73KUZTXGNRlXY9lxrVBB82VVuQCj7-QcxYvGLF0JJ_-8aesLRn60pQkCjd1JdVcNfYhw
RESEARCHERS FIND POTENTIAL PATH TO A BROADLY PROTECTIVE COVID-19 VACCINE USING T CELLS
In order to study HIV, Gaurav Gaiha, MD, DPhil, and Elizabeth Rossin, MD, PhD, previously developed an approach known as structure-based network analysis to identify viral pieces that are constrained, or restricted, from mutation
When the pandemic began, the researchers applied the principles of structure-based network to SARS-CoV-2
Their research revealed that it may be possible to develop a broadly protectiveT cell vaccinethat can protect against variants of concern, such as the Delta variant, and potentially extend protection to future variants
In previous studies on mutations in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Gaurav Gaiha, MD, DPhil, researcher at the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, and Elizabeth Rossin, MD, PhD, a former retina fellow and incomingretina faculty member at Mass Eye and Ear, developed an approach to virus identification known as structure-based network analysis. The approach allows clinicians to identify viral pieces, or epitopes, that are constrained or restricted from mutation.
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Dr. Gaiha and his team have now applied the principles of structure-based network analysis to SARS-CoV-2. By using the approach, the researchers identified mutationally constrained SARS-CoV-2 epitopes that can be recognized by immune cells known as T cells. These epitopes could then be used in a vaccine to train T cells to provide protective immunity. In Cell, they highlight the possibility of a T cell vaccine that could offer broad protection against new and emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 and other SARS-like coronaviruses.