However, antibodies generated by the SARS outbreak of 2003 had only limited effectiveness in neutralizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Antibodies are blood proteins that are made by the immune system to protect against infection, in this case by a coronavirus.
The study published today in the journal Cell Reports.
“Our finding has some important implications concerning immunity toward different strains of coronavirus infections, especially as these viruses continue to mutate,” said senior author Fikadu Tafesse, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine.