Identifying antiviral therapies for SARS-CoV-2 is still desperately needed while vaccines continue to rollout worldwide. An approach like this, using a STING agonist, could be deployed to protect those at highest risk in this pandemic but also in future pandemics before we have drugs that target the virus itself. Fitzgerald and Dr. Galia, a postdoctoral associate in the Fitzgerald lab, are authors on the paper.

Vaccines work by stimulating the adaptive immune system, which creates antibodies against diseases and viruses. By taking a small piece of a virus that doesn't cause infection, in the case of SARS-CoV-2 a part of the spike protein that latches onto and infects epithelial cells, scientists can teach the adaptive immune system to recognize specific viral invaders. Once the adaptive immune system has been trained, it can more quickly respond to subsequent encounters by producing the antibodies that fight off the virus. This prevents serious illness, such as COVID-19, and in some cases entirely blocks infection.

The innate immune system, however, is more of a generalist, explained Humphries. The innate immune system identifies any pathogen that it may encounter—whether it be bacterial, viral or fungal. One of its chief functions is to produce cytokines that serve as a first line of defense, antiviral responder. It also alerts the immune system to the presence of the invader and triggers the adaptive immune system to wake up.

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John
Editorial Assistant
Immunogenetics Open Access