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Author: Zheng Qiuling
2020-08-06 21:25
Last update date: 2020-08-06 21:25The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong announced that it has carried out and completed a study on the human immune response during the acute phase of the novel coronavirus infection (that is, within three weeks after infection) in Hong Kong with a cooperating team, and found that the acute infection of the novel coronavirus weakened the immune system. Functional dendritic cells and T cells enable the virus to evade the host's innate and adaptive immune defense system.
The research team also announced that it has developed two vaccines that can help prevent the new coronary pneumonia virus disease, and has entered the mass production stage with quality assurance, that is, the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), so that it can be used in human trials.
The research team of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong announced that it has developed two vaccines that can help prevent new coronary pneumonia virus disease. (Photo provided by the University of Hong Kong)
This study was conducted by researchers from the Institute of AIDS, the Department of Microbiology, and the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing Faculty of Medicine, and the medical teams of the Queen Mary Hospital, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital Cooperate to study 17 acutely infected patients and 24 recovered patients and compare clinical samples of people who are not sick.
Studies have found that acute infection of the new coronavirus can significantly reduce the number of various immune cells. Yuan Guoyong, chair professor of infectious disease in the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hong Kong University, who participated in the study, pointed out that the research shows that the use of antiviral or immune-enhancing drugs such as interferon β-1b is an important means to reduce the incidence and fatal rate.
Professor Chen Zhiwei, Professor of the Department of Microbiology and Director of the Institute of AIDS, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, who led the research, explained that the biggest difficulty in developing vaccines is that the mechanism related to immune protection is not yet clear, so the answers must be found from infected patients. In previous studies, it has been found that, compared with patients with mild symptoms, neutralizing antibodies that are supposed to kill the virus, higher levels are found in critically ill patients staying in the intensive care unit.
Therefore, in this study, they further clarified that dysfunctional dendritic cells may be the cause of the delayed response of killer T cells, and the response of killer T cells is crucial to the elimination of cells infected by the new coronavirus. "For this, an effective vaccine should protect the human body by inducing a balanced antibody and killer T cell immune response."
Relevant research results have been published in the internationally renowned journal "Immunity".
The new crown pneumonia epidemic in Hong Kong continues. (Profile picture / Photo by Liang Pengwei)
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New Coronary Pneumonia The University of Hong Kong
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