COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the severity of the illness it brings about varies hugely, from asymptomatic cases to very serious cases that can lead to death. The impact of this variability on the development of immune protection as the illness progresses is still largely unknown. Studies on vaccines currently in development […]

Could the immune response that protects us against common coronaviruses (HCoVs) prevent infection by SARS-CoV-2? To answer this question, a team of British researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, London, has developed an efficient test (flow cytometry) which allows the presence of antibodies targeting the spike (S) protein of the virus to be evaluated. This […]

The SARS-CoV-2 virus carries on its surface the spike protein, responsible for its entry into cells. This protein is made up of 2 parts: the S1 domain that binds to the ACE2 cell receptor and the S2 domain that catalyzes the fusion of viral and cellular membranes to enter the cell. The S1 domain can […]

Since the beginning of the epidemic, there have been numerous questions raised concerning antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2. What levels of antibodies are necessary to give protection against reinfection, and how long will such protection last? Although we have assembled a great deal of data relating to critical cases of COVID-19, we don’t know as much […]