Long-term SARS-CoV-2-specific and cross-reactive cellular immune responses correlate with humoral responses, disease severity, and symptomatology [Elektronisk resurs]

• Background: Cellular immune memory responses post coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been difficult to assess due to the risks of contaminating the immune response readout with memory responses stemming from previous exposure to endemic coronaviruses. The work herein presents a large-scale long-term follow-up study investigating the correlation between symptomology and cellular immune responses four to five months post seroconversion based on a unique severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific peptide pool that contains no overlapping peptides with endemic human coronaviruses. Methods: Peptide stimulated memory T cell responses were assessed with dual interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) and interleukin (IL)-2 Fluorospot. Serological analyses were performed using a multiplex antigen bead array. Results: Our work demonstrates that long-term SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cell responses feature dual IFN gamma and IL-2 responses, whereas cross-reactive memory T cell responses primarily generate IFN gamma in response to SARS-CoV-2 peptide stimulation. T cell responses correlated to long-term humoral immune responses. Disease severity as well as specific COVID-19 symptoms correlated with the magnitude of the SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cell response four to five months post seroconversion. Conclusion: Using a large cohort and a SARS-CoV-2-specific peptide pool we were able to substantiate that initial disease severity and symptoms correlate with the magnitude of the SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cell responses. 

Ämnesord

Medical and Health Sciences  (hsv)

Basic Medicine  (hsv)

Immunology in the medical area  (hsv)

Medicin och hälsovetenskap  (hsv)

Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper  (hsv)

Immunologi inom det medicinska området  (hsv)

Genre

government publication  (marcgt)

Indexterm och SAB-rubrik

B-cell

IFN gamma

IL-2

SARS-Cov-2

T cell