tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Immunol
. 2022 Apr 20;13:800070.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.800070. eCollection 2022.
Long-Term, CD4 [SUP]+[/SUP] Memory T Cell Response to SARS-CoV-2
Sebastian Wirsching[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Laura Harder[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Markus Heymanns[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Britta Gröndahl[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Katja Hilbert[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Frank Kowalzik[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Claudius Meyer[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Stephan Gehring[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The first cases of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were reported by Chinese authorities at the end of 2019. The disease spread quickly and was declared a global pandemic shortly thereafter. To respond effectively to infection and prevent viral spread, it is important to delineate the factors that affect protective immunity. Herein, a cohort of convalescent healthcare workers was recruited and their immune responses were studied over a period of 3 to 9 months following the onset of symptoms. A cross-reactive T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 and endemic coronaviruses, i.e., OC43 and NL63, was demonstrated in the infected, convalescent cohort, as well as a cohort composed of unexposed individuals. The convalescent cohort, however, displayed an increased number of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4[SUP]+[/SUP] T cells relative to the unexposed group. Moreover, unlike humoral immunity and quickly decreasing antibody titers, T cell immunity in convalescent individuals was maintained and stable throughout the study period. This study also suggests that, based on the higher CD4 T cell memory response against nucleocapsid antigen, future vaccine designs may include nucleocapsid as an additional antigen along with the spike protein.
Keywords: HCoV; SARS-CoV-2; T cell immunity; cross-reactivity; long-term memory.
. 2022 Apr 20;13:800070.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.800070. eCollection 2022.
Long-Term, CD4 [SUP]+[/SUP] Memory T Cell Response to SARS-CoV-2
Sebastian Wirsching[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Laura Harder[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Markus Heymanns[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Britta Gröndahl[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Katja Hilbert[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Frank Kowalzik[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Claudius Meyer[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Stephan Gehring[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35514974
- PMCID: PMC9065554
- DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.800070
Abstract
The first cases of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were reported by Chinese authorities at the end of 2019. The disease spread quickly and was declared a global pandemic shortly thereafter. To respond effectively to infection and prevent viral spread, it is important to delineate the factors that affect protective immunity. Herein, a cohort of convalescent healthcare workers was recruited and their immune responses were studied over a period of 3 to 9 months following the onset of symptoms. A cross-reactive T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 and endemic coronaviruses, i.e., OC43 and NL63, was demonstrated in the infected, convalescent cohort, as well as a cohort composed of unexposed individuals. The convalescent cohort, however, displayed an increased number of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4[SUP]+[/SUP] T cells relative to the unexposed group. Moreover, unlike humoral immunity and quickly decreasing antibody titers, T cell immunity in convalescent individuals was maintained and stable throughout the study period. This study also suggests that, based on the higher CD4 T cell memory response against nucleocapsid antigen, future vaccine designs may include nucleocapsid as an additional antigen along with the spike protein.
Keywords: HCoV; SARS-CoV-2; T cell immunity; cross-reactivity; long-term memory.