Some people's immune systems may have a head start in fighting the coronavirus, research suggests.

The study, published in Cell, confirms people who have never been exposed to the COVID-19 coronavirus have helper T cells that are capable of recognizing and responding to it. They looked at two types of white blood cells in the patients’ blood that are known as CD4+ cells and CD8+ cells. These cells either attack pathogens directly or alert other immune system members called B lymphocytes, which produce antibodies that eliminate them.

TERRITORIAL BATTLE

Antibodies are produced by immune systems after the body detects the presence of a foreign substance otherwise known as an antigen within a cell. The presence of antigens on its surface is a cell’s way of warning the immune system it has been invaded.

Antibodies that recognize a pathogen latch onto the viral-infected cells to eliminate them. The earlier this happens, the better the body’s response to the pathogen. If too many cells become infected, the virus wins too much territory. Antibodies latch onto antigens and destroy them; other immune cells aid in clean up. Hopefully for your health, especially for persons who are first responders, medical and health professionals, and essential workers, the immune system has this ability. But not everyone does.

CROSS-REACTIVITY

But some people have immune systems that get rid of the coronavirus right away. What’s their secret?

The likeliest explanation is a cross-reactivity, which is when helper T cells, developed in response to another virus, produce antibodies that are able to vanquish a newly emergent and hitherto unknown, yet somewhat similar, pathogen.

This may happen because of other coronaviruses to which the immune system has been exposed. The current COVID-19 coronavirus bears approximately an 80 percent similarity to other more familiar kinds that cause less-severe illness and to which we and other mammals have been exposed.

In the study, researchers speculate that T cells may be left over from people's previous exposure to a different coronavirus—likely one of the four that cause common colds.

Among the 20 people whose blood samples were taken before the pandemic, half of them had CD4+ cells that were capable of recognizing the new coronavirus and prompting the immune system to fight back right away.

FIRST-MILK HACK

But not everybody has been exposed to coronaviruses, so that knowledge doesn’t work for everyone. On the other hand, cows are also exposed to at least two types of coronaviruses that infect both their gastrointestinal and respiratory systems. The antibodies produced by these exposures are passed on from the mother to the newborn calf (or human) through the golden milky fluid called bovine colostrum (BC) and confer what is known as passive immunity. This is when the antibodies from one person, such as breastfeeding mothers, are given to the other: a newborn. When used regularly, these same benefits of cross-reactivity are conferred by BC not only to the newborn but children and adults as well.

During the height of the polio crisis, smart parents, indeed, gave their kids BC. As it turns out, these parents were onto something. The first polio vaccine came from antibodies identified from BC.

“As a practitioner, I cannot make a claim that colostrum should be used to treat COVID-19,” says Dr. Vedat Obuz, a New Jersey physician trained in internal medicine and pediatrics.

It is important to note that BC is not a drug and not given in lieu of other drugs, he adds. “However, I do have several COVID-19 patients. I approach these patients by using functional medicine to treat the root cause, not the symptom-based approach. In addition, I use colostrum on all auto-immune and colitis patients with diarrhea to address leaky gut. All patients with COVID-19 have some degree of leaky gut.”

Dr. Obuz also uses first milk for prevention. “I and my staff are using high-dose vitamin C, D, and zinc with bovine colostrum as an additional gut immune shield.”

"Growing up on a farm in rural Turkey, I’ve been familiar with colostrum for many years," he says. "The idea that it offers immune cross-reactivity is not a new one. I’m glad that we are starting to recognize this potential in bovine colostrum."

“Mechanistically, bovine immunoglobulins bind to many human pathogens and allergens, can neutralize experimental infection of human cells, and limit gastrointestinal inflammation. Furthermore, bovine immunoglobulins bind to human Fc receptors, which enhances phagocytosis, killing of bacteria, and antigen presentation and bovine IgG supports gastrointestinal barrier function.These mechanisms are becoming more and more established and explain why bovine colostrum can have immunological effects in functional medical proactice. The inclusion of oral bovine colostrum is a promising approach to support immune function in vulnerable groups such as infants, children, elderly and immunocompromised patients as well as first responders, health professionals like myself, and essential workers.”