No, this is not how people are reacting emotionally. We are here today to talk about what our body is ACTUALLY doing to fight this thing and how we are using that genetic information to combat the virus. This week it’s going to get pretty confusing in terms of microbiology language so let’s see how good I do at breaking it down. First, I am going to discuss how we can test for COVID-19 using the virus’s genetics. This is where we see what is going on inside the virus. Then, we will talk about a treatment that is being used by tampering with our immune system (in a good way).
Okay first thing first- genetics. I’m sure you all know that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. I mean c’mon, if you were to ask someone who hasn’t taken a science class since freshman year of high school, they could even tell you that. That doesn’t have much correlation to what I’m talking about, but basically the other organelle that people know about is the nucleus. The nucleus has all the genetic information for that cell in it. We, as humans, are composed of DNA, we take DNA, break it down into a single strand- RNA- and then build new DNA based off of that. Some viruses work differently in that instead of breaking down DNA to build more DNA, all they have in them is RNA- DNA is never made. This is the case with COVID-19. Because the genes of the coronavirus are only composed of RNA, we can easily differentiate them from our “self” cells that are made up of DNA. One way that we test to see if someone is positive for the coronavirus is to see if they have these RNA cells inside them. This report (available for free download), discusses that using this method of diagnosis is effective because it allows us to detect the virus accurately and sensitively in terms of different variants. I find this method incredible because we can take something so ridiculously small that we barely know is there and use it on such a large scale. One drawback, though, is that it can’t be used with low viral titer, which I’ll explain now.
Our immune system is composed of a lot of different types of cells. The main cells that compose what we call our adaptive immune system are B cells and T cells. We are going to focus on B cells right now. When we are exposed to an antigen or a pathogen or anything bad in our body, we begin to make B cells (and T cells) that code specifically for that pathogen. We then make clones out of these B cells that have become activated to fight the virus. Whenever the B cell is first activated it makes a type of antibody called IgM. IgM is helpful but it doesn’t do the job as well as it could possibly be done. As the B cell begins to divide, it gets signals that tell the B cell to start producing IgG, a better antibody. Whenever we have a lot of IgG (or a high titer), it means that you are exposed to the pathogen and the body is actively fighting it off. These active B cells that are producing IgG are called plasma cells. In this study, scientists are taking Convalescent Plasma and injecting it into the infected person to give them more active fighting antibodies that target COVID-19, and thus causing the disease to start disappearing. Out of all the trillions of cells that are in our body, it is amazing how finding and targeting one minute and specific cell can have such a drastic change on our body.
Landyn's Microbial World 