SARS-COV-2 POPULATION IMMUNITY: EPITOPES, EPITOPES and EPITOPES !
An epitope is a small part of a molecule (like a protein) that the immune system recognizes and binds to, triggering a response.
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
An epitope is a small part of a molecule (like a protein) that the immune system recognizes and binds to, triggering a response.
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
November 19, 2024 at 4:55 AM
SARS-COV-2 POPULATION IMMUNITY: EPITOPES, EPITOPES and EPITOPES !
An epitope is a small part of a molecule (like a protein) that the immune system recognizes and binds to, triggering a response.
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
An epitope is a small part of a molecule (like a protein) that the immune system recognizes and binds to, triggering a response.
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
HIV vaccine clinical trials start in African nations.
Phase 1 clinical trial of HIV vaccine starts in Africa to evaluate immune responses to highly networked HIV T-cell epitopes
Led by a team of African researchers, first doses of the novel T cell-inducing GRAdHIVNE1 vaccine candidate have been given.
www.eatg.org
October 12, 2025 at 5:01 PM
HIV vaccine clinical trials start in African nations.
Deep learning enhances the prediction of HLA class I-presented CD8+ T cell epitopes in foreign pathogens
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
@natmachintell.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
@natmachintell.bsky.social
Deep learning enhances the prediction of HLA class I-presented CD8+ T cell epitopes in foreign pathogens - Nature Machine Intelligence
Accurate prediction of immunogenic CD8+ T cell epitopes would greatly accelerate T cell vaccine development. A new deep learning model, MUNIS, can rapidly identify HLA-binding, immunogenic and immunod...
www.nature.com
January 28, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Deep learning enhances the prediction of HLA class I-presented CD8+ T cell epitopes in foreign pathogens
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
@natmachintell.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
@natmachintell.bsky.social
The immune system balances barrier defenses and systemic responses to maintain health. Diversity in antigen receptors enables pathogen recognition, but some epitopes are historically excluded due to biased selection. Cytokines polarize responses, influencing cell inclusion and immune status.
February 4, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The immune system balances barrier defenses and systemic responses to maintain health. Diversity in antigen receptors enables pathogen recognition, but some epitopes are historically excluded due to biased selection. Cytokines polarize responses, influencing cell inclusion and immune status.
Here’s an example of how it works with antibodies from people who had malaria. For some things they can be useful for screening to identify key epitopes (antibody binding sites). The findings still need to be validated, though, because cross-reactivity.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
High-density Peptide Arrays Help to Identify Linear Immunogenic B-cell Epitopes in Individuals Naturally Exposed to Malaria Infection
High-density peptide arrays are an excellent means to profile anti-plasmodial antibody responses. Different protein intrinsic epitopes can be distingu…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 9, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Here’s an example of how it works with antibodies from people who had malaria. For some things they can be useful for screening to identify key epitopes (antibody binding sites). The findings still need to be validated, though, because cross-reactivity.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
B lymphocytes that enter the germinal center late preferentially differentiate into memory cells that recognize subdominant epitopes @cp-immunity.bsky.social
www.cell.com/immunity/ful... @rockefeller.edu
www.cell.com/immunity/ful... @rockefeller.edu
February 26, 2026 at 10:29 PM
B lymphocytes that enter the germinal center late preferentially differentiate into memory cells that recognize subdominant epitopes @cp-immunity.bsky.social
www.cell.com/immunity/ful... @rockefeller.edu
www.cell.com/immunity/ful... @rockefeller.edu
Imprinting by influenza virus infection in children can cause a deleterious shift of nearly the entire memory recall response against key, conserved epitopes @nature.com @weillcornell.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
March 11, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Imprinting by influenza virus infection in children can cause a deleterious shift of nearly the entire memory recall response against key, conserved epitopes @nature.com @weillcornell.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Imagine.... one vaccine containing several conserved epitopes or whole antigens for all viruses! A mega-vaccine?
No, just stupid politicking, making a mockery out of science and health.
No, just stupid politicking, making a mockery out of science and health.
"... the entire phylum of viruses".
Awesome - One Vaccine to rule them all 🛡️.
Since he gave himself until September, checks clock, a month from now, to cure autism, when might we expect this One Vaccine? I'm spitballing, but maybe Q1 / Q2 next year?
Preeeecious.
Awesome - One Vaccine to rule them all 🛡️.
Since he gave himself until September, checks clock, a month from now, to cure autism, when might we expect this One Vaccine? I'm spitballing, but maybe Q1 / Q2 next year?
Preeeecious.
August 8, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Imagine.... one vaccine containing several conserved epitopes or whole antigens for all viruses! A mega-vaccine?
No, just stupid politicking, making a mockery out of science and health.
No, just stupid politicking, making a mockery out of science and health.
Paper alert 📢: What drives variation in humoral responses to viruses? collab with @etienne-patin.bsky.social @darraghduffy.bsky.social @lquintanamurci.bsky.social we show that for ~98k viral epitopes immunodominance vary by genetics, sex and origin: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 16, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Paper alert 📢: What drives variation in humoral responses to viruses? collab with @etienne-patin.bsky.social @darraghduffy.bsky.social @lquintanamurci.bsky.social we show that for ~98k viral epitopes immunodominance vary by genetics, sex and origin: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@connorapscott.bsky.social from UQ discussing his work on JEV epitopes for therapeutic design at Lorne I&I @theviin.bsky.social
#UQSCMB
#UQSCMB
February 19, 2025 at 6:28 AM
@connorapscott.bsky.social from UQ discussing his work on JEV epitopes for therapeutic design at Lorne I&I @theviin.bsky.social
#UQSCMB
#UQSCMB
Oh the antigens and epitopes! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A single-dose of intranasal vaccination with a live-attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate promotes protective mucosal and systemic immunity www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A single-dose of intranasal vaccination with a live-attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate promotes...
npj Vaccines - A single-dose of intranasal vaccination with a live-attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate promotes protective mucosal and systemic immunity
www.nature.com
October 22, 2023 at 2:25 AM
Oh the antigens and epitopes! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Immunodominant epitopes from seed storage proteins are a target of intestinal regulatory T cells that modulate immune challenge to food @sciimmunology.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @sattelylab.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @sattelylab.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
March 6, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Immunodominant epitopes from seed storage proteins are a target of intestinal regulatory T cells that modulate immune challenge to food @sciimmunology.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @sattelylab.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @sattelylab.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
In #ScienceTranslationalMedicine, researchers formulate anti #RSV monoclonal antibodies into a prophylactic cocktail, which can shield rodents from RSV A and B while avoiding viral escape and resistance mutations produced by single antibodies like nirsevimab. https://scim.ag/4sKXPlm
An antibody cocktail targeting conserved, nonoverlapping epitopes prevents viral escape and confers protection against RSV in vivo
An antibody cocktail targeting conserved epitopes on the RSV A and B pre-F protein prevents viral escape and confers prophylactic protection in vivo.
scim.ag
January 19, 2026 at 7:05 PM
In #ScienceTranslationalMedicine, researchers formulate anti #RSV monoclonal antibodies into a prophylactic cocktail, which can shield rodents from RSV A and B while avoiding viral escape and resistance mutations produced by single antibodies like nirsevimab. https://scim.ag/4sKXPlm
Design of SARS-CoV-2 RBD immunogens to focus immune responses toward conserved coronavirus epitopes
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
June 13, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Design of SARS-CoV-2 RBD immunogens to focus immune responses toward conserved coronavirus epitopes
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Killer T cells (CD8+) in Long Covid directed to SARS-CoV-2 and Herpes virus antigens are persistent and may have a causal role
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Persistent cytolytic CD8+ T cells recognize SARS-CoV-2 and herpesvirus epitopes in long COVID
Ma et al. perform deep-phenotyping of CD8+ T cells specific for viruses implicated
in LC pathogenesis: SARS-CoV-2, CMV, and EBV. These T cells from LC individuals share
features of terminal differenti...
www.cell.com
July 30, 2026 at 6:50 AM
Killer T cells (CD8+) in Long Covid directed to SARS-CoV-2 and Herpes virus antigens are persistent and may have a causal role
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Always love posts from @enirenberg.bsky.social--this is our hot off the press work with @gquirk96.bsky.social, but he does a better job explaining it than I would!
TL;DR, as SARS-CoV2 Spike epitopes drifted, many became poorly immunogenic, irrespective of antigenic imprinting/prior immunity.
TL;DR, as SARS-CoV2 Spike epitopes drifted, many became poorly immunogenic, irrespective of antigenic imprinting/prior immunity.
I've been yelling for a while about how imprinting is not the problem with our immune responses to Omicron, and the issue is much more about the intrinsic immunogenicity of Omicron's spike protein (which is poor). This freshly published study provides pretty definitive proof of that 🧵
Intrinsic immunogenicity is a major determinant of type-specific responses in SARS-CoV-2 infections - Nature Immunology
Bhattacharya and colleagues assess the impact of antigenic imprinting using samples from mRNA vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals primarily infected with the SARS-CoV-2 variants Delta and Omicron B...
www.nature.com
May 27, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Always love posts from @enirenberg.bsky.social--this is our hot off the press work with @gquirk96.bsky.social, but he does a better job explaining it than I would!
TL;DR, as SARS-CoV2 Spike epitopes drifted, many became poorly immunogenic, irrespective of antigenic imprinting/prior immunity.
TL;DR, as SARS-CoV2 Spike epitopes drifted, many became poorly immunogenic, irrespective of antigenic imprinting/prior immunity.
wrt C19…
C19 and malaria share some epitopes.
Parts of the virus look like parts of malaria.
Initially there was some speculation that malaria endemic regions had a different response to C19 because of this.
Has this backfired somehow?
C19 and malaria share some epitopes.
Parts of the virus look like parts of malaria.
Initially there was some speculation that malaria endemic regions had a different response to C19 because of this.
Has this backfired somehow?
December 11, 2024 at 5:14 AM
wrt C19…
C19 and malaria share some epitopes.
Parts of the virus look like parts of malaria.
Initially there was some speculation that malaria endemic regions had a different response to C19 because of this.
Has this backfired somehow?
C19 and malaria share some epitopes.
Parts of the virus look like parts of malaria.
Initially there was some speculation that malaria endemic regions had a different response to C19 because of this.
Has this backfired somehow?
An antibody cocktail targeting conserved, nonoverlapping epitopes prevents viral escape and confers protection against RSV in vivo | Science Translational Medicine www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧪
An antibody cocktail targeting conserved, nonoverlapping epitopes prevents viral escape and confers protection against RSV in vivo
An antibody cocktail targeting conserved epitopes on the RSV A and B pre-F protein prevents viral escape and confers prophylactic protection in vivo.
www.science.org
January 14, 2026 at 8:03 PM
An antibody cocktail targeting conserved, nonoverlapping epitopes prevents viral escape and confers protection against RSV in vivo | Science Translational Medicine www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧪
There is a difference between the immune system learning about epitopes to be on the look out for… and learning this while taking the full force of the damage.
Same with noting the difference between good bugs and pathogens.
Same with noting the difference between good bugs and pathogens.
January 15, 2025 at 5:55 AM
There is a difference between the immune system learning about epitopes to be on the look out for… and learning this while taking the full force of the damage.
Same with noting the difference between good bugs and pathogens.
Same with noting the difference between good bugs and pathogens.
Antibody cocktails derived from pediatricians cooperatively neutralize and protect rodents against RSV and hMPV by targeting conserved epitopes
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
February 18, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Antibody cocktails derived from pediatricians cooperatively neutralize and protect rodents against RSV and hMPV by targeting conserved epitopes
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Wohlwend et al. apply a deep learning model to reveal immunogenic T cell epitopes. Their method refines peptide binding predictions, surpasses prior tools, and uncovers new viral targets, advancing vaccine-focused immune research. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Deep learning enhances the prediction of HLA class I-presented CD8+ T cell epitopes in foreign pathogens - Nature Machine Intelligence
Accurate prediction of immunogenic CD8+ T cell epitopes would greatly accelerate T cell vaccine development. A new deep learning model, MUNIS, can rapidly identify HLA-binding, immunogenic and immunod...
www.nature.com
January 30, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Wohlwend et al. apply a deep learning model to reveal immunogenic T cell epitopes. Their method refines peptide binding predictions, surpasses prior tools, and uncovers new viral targets, advancing vaccine-focused immune research. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
This preprint is from 2024 but I think it's really cool: scientists made a version of gluten lacking in the major sites that trigger celiac disease attacks- and one of the glutens they tried resulted in even better gluten strength than the wild type. It still needs to be validated empirically...
Deletion of wheat alpha-gliadins from chromosome 6D improves gluten strength and reduces immunodominant celiac disease epitopes
Wheat gliadins and glutenins confer valuable end-use characteristics but include amino acid sequences (epitopes) that can elicit celiac disease (CeD) in genetically predisposed individuals. The onset ...
www.biorxiv.org
April 2, 2025 at 4:50 AM
This preprint is from 2024 but I think it's really cool: scientists made a version of gluten lacking in the major sites that trigger celiac disease attacks- and one of the glutens they tried resulted in even better gluten strength than the wild type. It still needs to be validated empirically...
Anyone knows a good set of validated T-cell epitopes? Meaning epitopes that definitely showed a good T-cell response.
I've used IEDB in the past but maybe there are other valuable resources?
#Immunosky
I've used IEDB in the past but maybe there are other valuable resources?
#Immunosky
November 26, 2024 at 11:13 AM
Anyone knows a good set of validated T-cell epitopes? Meaning epitopes that definitely showed a good T-cell response.
I've used IEDB in the past but maybe there are other valuable resources?
#Immunosky
I've used IEDB in the past but maybe there are other valuable resources?
#Immunosky
This is quite common to see in chronic infections for which we have multiple sequences: Each sequence will contain one or more mutations in T-cell epitopes, but those mutations vary between sequences.
It's evolving away, rather than toward something (i.e. diversifying selection). 9/9
It's evolving away, rather than toward something (i.e. diversifying selection). 9/9
January 1, 2026 at 10:46 PM
This is quite common to see in chronic infections for which we have multiple sequences: Each sequence will contain one or more mutations in T-cell epitopes, but those mutations vary between sequences.
It's evolving away, rather than toward something (i.e. diversifying selection). 9/9
It's evolving away, rather than toward something (i.e. diversifying selection). 9/9
Take home: the mutated epitopes themselves were not very good at triggering strong responses, irrespective of prior antigenic imprinting. Ie poor intrinsic immunogenicity of these drifted epitopes explains why they promote weak antibody responses.
June 4, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Take home: the mutated epitopes themselves were not very good at triggering strong responses, irrespective of prior antigenic imprinting. Ie poor intrinsic immunogenicity of these drifted epitopes explains why they promote weak antibody responses.