Biomedicines

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Dear Colleagues,

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of deaths worldwide, and counting. Small-chemical antivirals and immunosuppressive treatments are not always efficacious, but passive and active immunotherapies based on neutralizing antibodies show potential.

Antibody immune response is important for the clearance of the virus and critical for the generation of memory response to prevent reinfection. SARS-CoV-2 generates a virus-specific IgM, IgG and neutralizing antibody response in the days following infection. However, these antibody responses wane over time and in some cases contribute to only partial protection. There is a need for further research in this field to understand the measures of and the magnitude of antibody responses and their relationship with longer-term protection conferred by vaccines, vaccine combinations, vaccine-driven pathology, and immune differences among vaccines and patients. This necessitates a critical evaluation of vaccine efficiency in different patient groups and for vaccine research to be expedited.

In this Special Issue, we invite articles investigating antibody responses to coronavirus, including but not limited to the role of neutralizing antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 infection, mechanisms that lead to viral escape, immune parameters correlated with cytokine release syndrome, and T-cell and B-cell dynamics in coronavirus infection.

Prof. Dr. Tar Choon Aw
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2
immune escape
neutralizing antibodies
vaccines
variants
sterilizing immunity
COVID-19

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 1333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Serum ACE2, CTSL, AngII, and TNFα Levels after COVID-19 and mRNA Vaccines: The Molecular Basis

by Mina Pencheva, Martina Bozhkova, Yordan Kalchev, Steliyan Petrov, Alexandra Baldzhieva, Teodora Kalfova, Valentin Dichev, Donka Keskinova, Silvia Genova, Mariya Atanasova and Mariana Murdzheva

Biomedicines 2023, 11(12), 3160; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11123160 - 27 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1014

Abstract

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines cause an increased production of proinflammatory cytokines. Aim: We investigated the relationship between ACE2, CTSL, AngII, TNFα and the serum levels of IL-6, IL-10, IL-33, IL-28A, CD40L, total IgM, IgG, IgA and absolute count of T- and B-lymphocytes in COVID-19 patients, vaccinees and healthy individuals. Methods: We measured the serum levels ACE2, AngII, CTSL, TNFα and humoral biomarkers (CD40L, IL-28A, IL-10, IL-33) by the ELISA method. Immunophenotyping of lymphocyte subpopulations was performed by flow cytometry. Total serum immunoglobulins were analyzed by the turbidimetry method. Results: The results established an increase in the total serum levels for ACE2, CTSL, AngII and TNFα by severely ill patients and vaccinated persons. The correlation analysis described a positive relationship between ACE2 and proinflammatory cytokines IL-33 (r = 0.539) and CD40L (r = 0.520), a positive relationship between AngII and CD40L (r = 0.504), as well as between AngII and IL-33 (r = 0.416), and a positive relationship between CTSL, total IgA (r = 0.437) and IL-28A (r = 0.592). Correlation analysis confirmed only two of the positive relationships between TNFα and IL-28A (r = 0.491) and CD40L (r = 0.458). Conclusions: In summary, the findings presented in this study unveil a complex web of interactions within the immune system in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Issues in COVID-19 and Neutralizing Antibodies)

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Review

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50 pages, 6925 KiB

Open AccessReview

‘Spikeopathy’: COVID-19 Spike Protein Is Pathogenic, from Both Virus and Vaccine mRNA

by Peter I. Parry, Astrid Lefringhausen, Conny Turni, Christopher J. Neil, Robyn Cosford, Nicholas J. Hudson and Julian Gillespie

Biomedicines 2023, 11(8), 2287; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11082287 - 17 Aug 2023

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 99637

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused much illness, many deaths, and profound disruption to society. The production of ‘safe and effective’ vaccines was a key public health target. Sadly, unprecedented high rates of adverse events have overshadowed the benefits. This two-part narrative review presents evidence for the widespread harms of novel product COVID-19 mRNA and adenovectorDNA vaccines and is novel in attempting to provide a thorough overview of harms arising from the new technology in vaccines that relied on human cells producing a foreign antigen that has evidence of pathogenicity. This first paper explores peer-reviewed data counter to the ‘safe and effective’ narrative attached to these new technologies. Spike protein pathogenicity, termed ‘spikeopathy’, whether from the SARS-CoV-2 virus or produced by vaccine gene codes, akin to a ‘synthetic virus’, is increasingly understood in terms of molecular biology and pathophysiology. Pharmacokinetic transfection through body tissues distant from the injection site by lipid-nanoparticles or viral-vector carriers means that ‘spikeopathy’ can affect many organs. The inflammatory properties of the nanoparticles used to ferry mRNA; N1-methylpseudouridine employed to prolong synthetic mRNA function; the widespread biodistribution of the mRNA and DNA codes and translated spike proteins, and autoimmunity via human production of foreign proteins, contribute to harmful effects. This paper reviews autoimmune, cardiovascular, neurological, potential oncological effects, and autopsy evidence for spikeopathy. With many gene-based therapeutic technologies planned, a re-evaluation is necessary and timely. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Issues in COVID-19 and Neutralizing Antibodies)

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