Abstract
Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic is still ongoing, vaccination rates are rising slowly and related treatments and drugs are being developed. At the same time, there is increasing evidence of preexisting immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in humans, mainly consisting of preexisting antibodies and immune cells (including T cells and B cells). The presence of these antibodies is mainly due to the seasonal prevalence of four common coronavirus types, especially OC43 and HKU1. The accumulated relevant evidence has suggested that the target of antibodies is mainly the S2 subunit of S protein, followed by evolutionary conservative regions such as the nucleocapsid (N) protein. Additionally, preexisting memory T and B cells are also present in the population. Preexisting antibodies can help the body protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection, reduce the severity of COVID-19, and rapidly increase the immune response post-infection. These multiple effects can directly affect disease progression and even the likelihood of death in certain individuals. Besides the positive effects, preexisting immunity may also have negative consequences, such as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) and original antigenic sin (OAS), the prevalence of which needs to be further established. In the future, more research should be focused on evaluating the role of preexisting immunity in COVID-19 outcomes, adopting appropriate policies and strategies for fighting the pandemic, and vaccine development that considers preexisting immunity.
摘要
新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)疫情仍在持续,疫苗接种率正在缓慢上升,相关治疗方法和药物也在研发中。越来越多的证据表明,人类群体中已存在针对严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2型(SARS-CoV-2)的免疫力,包括抗体和免疫细胞(T细胞和B细胞)。这些抗体的存在主要是由于四种常见冠状病毒类型(尤其OC43和HKU1)的季节性流行所致。预存抗体的靶点主要是S蛋白的S2亚基,其次是核衣壳(N)等蛋白进化保守区。此外,人群中也存在预存的记忆T细胞和B细胞。预存抗体可以帮助身体抵御SARS-CoV-2感染,降低COVID-19的严重程度并迅速增加感染后的免疫反应。这些多重影响可以直接影响某些个体的疾病进展,甚至死亡的风险性。除了积极作用外,预存免疫也可能产生消极后果,例如抗体依赖性增强(ADE)和原始抗原原罪(OAS),其流行程度需要进一步确定。未来,更多的研究应侧重于评估已有免疫力在COVID-19中的作用,采取适当的政策和策略来抗击新冠大流行,同时也要考虑已有免疫力的疫苗开发。
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Science and Technology Major Project of China (No. 2018ZX10302206-003), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. LY16H160057), the Health Commission of Zhejiang Province (No. 2016KYA162), and the Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China (No. 2015ZA026).
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Gang WANG, Ze XIANG, Wei WANG, and Zhi CHEN were responsible for data collection and article writing. Zhi CHEN was responsible for conceptualization and manuscript revision. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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Gang WANG, Ze XIANG, Wei WANG, and Zhi CHEN declare that they have no conflict of interest.
This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.
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Wang, G., Xiang, Z., Wang, W. et al. Seasonal coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2: effects of preexisting immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B 23, 451–460 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B2200049
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B2200049
Key words
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- Preexisting immunity
- Seasonal coronaviruses
- Vaccine