TWiV 748: SARS-CoV-2 gets a sense of humoral

April 25, 2021

A TWiV trio explains a method for sequencing single genomes of SARS-CoV-2 and its use to explore in-host evolution drive by antibody responses, and incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis in COVID-19 patients and vaccine recipients.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Brianne Barker

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Weekly Picks 1:31:22

BrianneShow Your Immune System Some Love
AlanCyborg sea turtle
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AprilThe High Line
MichelWhy you can’t compare Covid-19 vaccines

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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6 comments on “TWiV 748: SARS-CoV-2 gets a sense of humoral

  1. Brianne’s cat should get a credit.

  2. janet Apr 27, 2021

    Great episode with the usefulness of longitudinal studies for evolving ecology of patient+virus highlighted.
    In a similar way, the concerns about fertility and vaccination are maybe the wrong question given that effects, if any, would likely be on the outcome of the pregnancy- i.e interaction of maternal immune activation with neurodevelopment of foetus/newborn/infant- and that data we won’t have for a few to many years, nor at all, unless such a longitudinal study is undertaken. I hope somebody will do this longitudinal study along these lines: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2727135
    as there is association of gestational infections with later life outcomes and it would be important to be able to compare the effect of the immune stimulation of vaccination (at different stages of pregnancy) to that of infection (including asymptomatic) and of no SARS CoV 2/vaccination exposure during gestation. It is a great opportunity given the possibility of international parallels. The controls could be e.g australian pregnancies (low to no exposure to this particular virus and its vaccines) and also SARS CoV 2 exposed pregnancies.

    I also want to point out that the need to contextualise risk to avoid increasing vaccine hesitancy shouldn’t lead to ignorance of symptoms and pathology of VITT (it’s not just CSVT).
    Vaccinees and clinicians need to know -and your programme has an international audience, including those liable to be offered AZ/J&J o could be a great conduit to raised awareness. The mortality of this condition can be reduced (initial 40% down to 19% latest in UK) only IF detected promptly and treated appropriately:

    Signs/symptoms suggestive of thromboembolism? Examples include (but not limited to) NEW ONSET: ○ Severe, persistent headache +/- vision change, seizure-like activity○ Severe, persistent abdominal pain ○ Leg swelling or pain ○ Chest pain and/or shortness of breath
    From the current VITT diagnosis and treatment protocol from ISTH:
    https://isth.informz.net/ISTH/data/images/ISTH%20VITT%20Guidance%202.pdf

    Most recent publication perhaps points to a solution:improving purification process/change of preservative.
    https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-440461/v1

  3. Simon Zukowski Apr 28, 2021

    TWIV, please hold a thorough discussion of issues raised by Geert Vanden Bossche (Or better yet, invite him to the podcast.
    https://37b32f5a-6ed9-4d6d-b3e1-5ec648ad9ed9.filesusr.com/ugd/28d8fe_266039aeb27a4465988c37adec9cd1dc.pdf

  4. janet Apr 28, 2021

    Last comment is in moderation. In it I said somewhat optimistically that early recognition of VITT could reduce mortality to ~19% (had been mentioned in UK ) BUT from:
    Commentary on VITT following AZ from RSTH, Dr Beverly Hunt
    https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/rth2.12529
    Mortality actually still at 30%-60% so either it is still not being responded to quickly enough or the therapy is not as effective as was hoped.
    UK figures should be updating tomorrow.
    Also there is a webinar run by the Danish Health Authority involving Danish, German, Norwegian, UK contributions and Narayan Nair from US FDA on J&J experience. Free but registration required, tomorrow 0700-10.30 EDT, 13.00-16.20 CEST
    …for those interested- maybe even Daniel Griffin could get a recording? With the ongoing J&J use and especially with hard-to-reach population as target candidates for this vax, there may be a need for pro-active follow up.
    Speakers will give comprehensive presentations followed by discussion, moderated by experts.
    https://sst.evenzu.com/

  5. Joel Rovnak May 6, 2021

    Dear TWIV team,
    A couple of quick corrections on statements made in episode 748:
    1) While the natural lifespan of cattle may be 20 years or more, the average age of dairy cows in the US is approximately 4.3 years, enough time for one or two cycles. After that, cows are sold for meat, most of which becomes hamburger.
    2) Insects can transmit viruses without themselves becoming infected, by direct transfer of virus particles. This was made clear with biting flies that can transmit blood-born retroviruses such as BLV and EIAV between animals within a herd and between neighboring herds.
    Just wanted to set the record straight.

  6. Sarah Randall May 11, 2021

    2. In episode 748 [SARS-CoV-2 gets a sense of humoral], Alan Dove contrasted sequencing modalities in acute viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2 with chronic viral infections such as HIV in which the ability to study the virus over time is more feasible due to latency of disease progression – the complete opposite scenario in severe COVID-19 disease progression. Based on this insight, the evolution of therapeutic interventions using drug resistance testing for antiviral selection has yielded very successful outcomes in the management of HIV/AIDS. Given the high propensity for mutations of SARS-CoV-2 to develop new variants, could a similar strategy be applied in the treatment of COVID-19 to improve the survival rate of severely infected patients?