COVID-19 could hold key to spotting viruses with pandemic potential

Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, Credit NIH Image Gallery Certain SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern are evolving to do a better job of shutting down human innate immune responses, according to new research from UCL, UCSF QBI and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The study, published in Cell , is the first to compare the ability of the most infectious COVID-19 variants to overcome humans' innate immune system. It found that these variants are increasing the production of certain proteins, called Orf6, Nucleocapsid (N) and Orf9b, to overcome our first line of defence. The researchers say that if these mechanisms are common to other coronaviruses, they may allow us to spot coronaviruses with pandemic potential. The human immune system is formed of two parts, the innate and adaptive immune systems. Innate immunity is present from birth and acts as the first line of defence, responding rapidly to infection to try to prevent it spreading. Adaptive immunity develops as we live our lives, learning from past infections so that it can recognise pathogens in future.