Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News
SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to evolve (even if they are no longer making headlines.) In August, researchers detected a new SARS-CoV-2 “variant of concern” in patients, first in Israel and Denmark. Over the past few months, this variant, BA.2.86 or “Pirola,” has made its way around the globe. The Pirola variant has raised alarms because it is highly mutated—comparable to the levels of mutations seen in the Omicron variant.
“There’s a concern that a virus with such a high number of mutations would ‘escape’ T cell immunity,” says Alessandro Sette, DrBiolSci, professor at the Center for Vaccine Innovation at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI).
Because of those concerns, researchers sought to determine whether previous COVID-19 vaccination (or previous SARS-CoV-2 exposure) can protect people from severe disease. Now, new research predicts the impact of BA.2.86-associated mutations on SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses.
The findings, published in Cell Host and Microbe in the paper “Pre-existing SARS-2 specific T cells are predicted to cross-recognize BA.2.86,” suggest that pre-existing SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells can cross-recognize BA.2.86.
“Our analysis suggests there is positive news,” says Alba Grifoni, PhD, research assistant professor at LJI. “It appears previous exposure to Omicron—or vaccination with the newer bivalent vaccines—may arm a person with T cells that can ‘catch up’ and generate responses specific for fighting Pirola.”