![]() ![]() ![]() Antibody-dodging variants of the virus, each carrying slightly rejiggered versions of spike, have now appeared in several countries, including South Africa, Brazil, India, and the United States more will certainly follow. “Spike is here to stay-it is absolutely necessary,” Smita Iyer, an immunologist at UC Davis, told me.īut although antibodies zero in on targets with laser-sharp precision, they are easily discombobulated by change: Even subtle shifts in the spike’s structure can make it harder for molecules to glom on to the surface of the virus and bring it to heel. And the spike protein appears to be top-notch antibody bait. Once a vaccinated person produces enough neutralizing antibodies, so the theory goes, they need little else to stave off sickness. This process, called neutralization, is carried out by specific types of antibodies, and it holds a venerated status in the field of vaccinology, David Martinez, a vaccine expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told me. Vaccines that teach the immune system to recognize the spike will, in all likelihood, be vaccines that teach the immune system to act effectively, and fast-quickly enough, perhaps, to waylay an invading virus before it even has a chance to break into cells. ![]() Read: Why the coronavirus has been so successful Spike, which helps the virus unlock and enter human cells, is one of the pathogen’s most salient and dangerous features, certainly among the first that will be spotted by immune cells and molecules on patrol. The vaccines we’ve built against the coronavirus continue to be astoundingly effective shields against disease largely because the protein is such an excellent teaching tool for an immune system that’s readying itself to duel. To be clear, setting our sights on spike has served us well. “It’s like diversifying a portfolio,” William Matchett, a vaccinologist at the University of Minnesota who’s researching reformulated COVID-19 vaccines, told me. Multifaceted shots also up the ante for the virus, which can alter only so many aspects of its anatomy at once. ![]() The potential perks of this tactic run the gamut: More vaccine ingredients could help the body identify more targets to attack, and loop in untapped reservoirs of immune cells that have no interest in spike. To get ahead of that inevitability, several companies are already looking to develop new vaccine formulations packed with additional bits of the coronavirus, ushering in an end to our monogamous affair with spike. Eventually, our first generation of spike-centric vaccines will likely become obsolete. In recent months, though, it’s become clear that the coronavirus is a slippery, shape-shifting foe-and spike appears to be one of its most malleable traits. “People put all their eggs in the spike basket,” Juliet Morrison, a virologist at UC Riverside, told me. Spike is a key ingredient in virtually every one of our current pandemic-fighting shots it has been repeatedly billed as essential for tickling out any immune response worth its salt. In the race to build the world’s first round of coronavirus vaccines, the spike protein-the thorny knobs that adorn each of the pathogen’s particles-was our MVP. ![]()
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