SARS-CoV-2 vaccination washes away original antigenic sin

Shiv Pillai

doi:10.1016/j.it.2022.02.009

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination washes away original antigenic sin

Trends Immunol. 2022 Apr;43(4):271-273. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2022.02.009. Epub 2022 Feb 28.

Author

Shiv Pillai¹

Affiliation

¹ Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. Electronic address: pillai@helix.mgh.harvard.edu.

Abstract

According to Röltgen and colleagues vaccination generates antibody breadth, whereas SARS-CoV-2 infection does not. Vaccination results in germinal center B cell responses and generates immunological breadth, with antibodies that bind viral variants. COVID-19 from SARS-CoV-2 infection does not induce germinal centers; it sustains immune imprinting, also known as 'original antigenic sin', and this results in limited immunological breadth.

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MeSH terms

Antigens
COVID-19 Vaccines
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
SARS-CoV-2*
Vaccination

Substances

Antigens
COVID-19 Vaccines