![]() ![]() Researchers have concentrated primarily on the coronavirus’s spike protein, which acts as a skeleton key to any cell bearing the ACE2 protein on its surface - which includes cells lining our airways, intestines, and heart. And the most protective antibodies may bind certain crucial regions. In response to a viral infection, we produce a panoply of antibodies that recognize the pathogen, but they’re not scattered uniformly across its surface. We already capitalize on antibodies in several efforts to contain the pandemic: Vaccines work by triggering our bodies to produce protective antibodies, while therapeutic antibodies aim to curtail infections already in progress.Ĭrafting a widely protective vaccine or antibody-based treatment starts with a deeper understanding of how our immune system creates its protective response. Researchers are particularly focused on protective immune proteins called antibodies, which are thought to hobble viruses before they manage to infect their target cells. Here are the key questions they’re working on now to shape the future of how we prevent and treat COVID-19. Scientists around the world, including at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, are delving into our immune response and the virus’ attempts to sidestep it. How often will vaccines need to be updated? How often will we need to get boosters? We have the power to shape the answers to these questions through the strategies we use to develop vaccines and immunotherapies against the COVID-19 virus.īut to develop vaccines and therapies that protect against a shape-shifting virus and its future variants, we need to understand critical interactions between our immune systems and SARS-CoV-2. The novel coronavirus is here to stay - that much we know. ![]() Viruses, Vaccines and Infectious Diseases.Institutional Partners & Collaborations.Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division. ![]() Subscribe to Oncology Insights Newsletter. ![]()
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