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Summary: There are a couple of issues mixed up in the issue of onset of IgG4 dominance with serial C19 vaccination. One is that two of the tests used (FACS Antibody isotyping) and the pVNT for Omicron in the Irrgang P et al, 2022 paper detect the PROTECTOR innate antibodies to HERV-K102 Env and for the latter also the HERV-K102 particles in serum/plasma. The second is the IgG1/3 to spike protein are in the upper respiratory tract (URT) favored by vaccination where they select for and cause the transmission of immune escape variants by ADE which prolongs the pandemic. Their conversion to IgG4 in the URT would reduce this process ending the pandemic sooner and in the host, may reduce the risk of progression to severe disease. So it doesn't necessarily imply it is all bad.

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Tokuyama M, Gunn BM, Venkataraman A, Kong Y, Kang I, Rakib T, Townsend MJ, Costenbader KH, Alter G, Iwasaki A. Antibodies against human endogenous retrovirus K102 envelope activate neutrophils in systemic lupus erythematosus. J Exp Med. 2021 Jul 5;218(7):e20191766. doi: 10.1084/jem.20191766. Epub 2021 May 21. Also a sightly different preprint is available at https://doi.org/10.1101/776468 Sept 20, 2019. This paper claims most of the antibody to HERV-K102 is IgG2 with some IgG1.. The complex of soluble HERV-K102 Env (SU domain) with IgG2 antibody activates neutrophils via the FCGR3B (CD16b). SLE plasma (or purified IgG) and recombinant HERV-K102 SU Env form a complex which activates neutrophils: enhances antibody dependent neutrophil phagocytosis (shown by flow cytometry) and increases Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) formation; shown by microscope for fluorescence following Hoeschst staining for extracellular DNA, citrullinated histone 3, and neutrophil elastase.

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WOW. Okay, I had to read it 3 times, look up some terms and acronyms, but Wow.

Will you consider writing the authors and the journal? Your observations are Important.

Wow.

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Sadly, the authors of the paper didn't use tests that could differentiate between anti-spike and anti-HERV-K102 Env antibodies. But you offer a sliver of hope that the class switch may not be as dire as some are saying. I hope we do see reduced transmission, reduced viremia, and reduced disease severity. By the same token, I would hate to see all of the latter used to justify continued serial "vaccination"/boosting.

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