What triggers thrombosis in the AstraZeneca (and maybe Janssen) vaccine
New research by Andreas Greinacher, collected by the Sinc agency , explains that thromboembolic events occur because there is something in the vaccine that interacts with a platelet protein called platelet factor 4, which triggers an autoimmune reaction that ends with clotting. . Until now, the main suspect for triggering this consequence was the adenovirus that uses the drug to trick our body and convince it to generate an immune response against SARS-CoV-2.
However, the finding of the new study is that there may be some other element that is the true culprit in motivating the immune response. Specifically, the study notes that Oxford / AstraZeneca serum contains non-viral proteins that originate during the manufacturing process . "They are not only adenovirus, half are derived from human cells that are used to multiply," announced Greinacher. At this point, the Sinc agency recalls that before ending up inside the syringe, adenoviruses have to multiply. And, like all viruses, they need to grow inside a cell.
In addition, the study considers that one of the components of the vaccine, EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), present in relatively high amounts, caused capillary leakage in mice. This would explain why an intramuscular injection elicits a general immune response with antibody formation. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together. "We focus on understanding which components of the vaccine may be responsible for preventing it in the future and informing therapeutic approaches and recommendations," Greinacher commented during a videoconference witnessed by Sinc Agency.
If it is confirmed that the origin of the problem was in the processing of the vaccine, it could explain that no cases of thrombosis have been found associated with the Sputnik V vaccine, whose managers boast of its highly purified product using a four-phase technology.
The creators of Sputnik V, ready to share their purification system
The cases of thrombosis that emerged in AstraZeneca and Janssen transferred mistrust to the rest of the adenovirus vector-based vaccines , such as the Russian one. However, the Nikolái Gamaleya Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, the organism that has developed Sputnik V, has explained in a statement that its vaccine does not produce venous sinus thrombi. In addition, he confessed to being willing to share the purification technology of his vaccine with other manufacturers of anticovid drugs.
"The Gamaleya Center is willing to share its purification technology with other vaccine producers to help them minimize the risk of side effects during vaccination," says the statement published by the agency. Furthermore, it highlights that "the quality and safety of Sputnik V is ensured by, among other things, a four-stage purification technology, which includes two chromatographic purification stages and two tangential flow filtration stages." "The purification technology helps to obtain a highly purified product that also undergoes mandatory monitoring that includes analysis for the presence of free DNA," he adds.
In addition, it refers to an article published by The New England Journal of Medicine , which indicates that insufficient purification of vaccines could cause cases of thrombosis. "Insufficient purification or the use of very high doses of target DNA / RNA can result in an adverse interaction of a patient's antibodies, which activate thrombocytes with elements of the vaccine itself, including free DNA," explains the statement from.
