In a groundbreaking revelation, scientists from Shanghai Ruijin Hospital have unraveled the intricate molecular mechanism behind the potent antiviral effects of three-booster inactivated COVID-19 vaccines.
Their findings illuminate the vaccines’ ability to trigger the activation and maturation of monocytes, a type of white blood cell, by kickstarting a process known as “training innate immunity” within the human body.
This discovery, led by a team of researchers including Qu Jieming, Zhu Jiang, Li Qingyun, and Chen Saijuan from the hospital affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, has been published on Cell’s website.
For the first time, this research provides a comprehensive insight into the impact of inactivated vaccines on the immune response in individuals infected with the Omicron variant. Previous studies mainly focused on the development of specific immunity against Omicron through mRNA or inactivated virus vaccines, leaving questions about the induction of “innate immune memory” unanswered.