1. Enhanced SARS-CoV-2-Specific CD4 + T Cell Activation and Multifunctionality in Late Convalescent COVID-19 Individuals.
- Author
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Pavan Kumar, Nathella, Moideen, Kadar, Nancy, Arul, Selvaraj, Nandhini, Renji, Rachel Mariam, Munisankar, Saravanan, Thangaraj, Jeromie Wesley Vivian, Muthusamy, Santhosh Kumar, Kumar, C. P. Girish, Bhatnagar, Tarun, Ponnaiah, Manickam, Ramasamy, Sabarinathan, Velusamy, Saravanakumar, Murhekar, Manoj Vasant, and Babu, Subash
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T cells , *COVID-19 , *CYTOTOXIC T cells , *SARS-CoV-2 , *CD4 antigen - Abstract
Background: Examination of CD4+ T cell responses during the natural course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection offers useful information for the improvement of vaccination strategies against this virus and the protective effect of these T cells. Methods: We characterized the SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cell activation marker, multifunctional cytokine and cytotoxic marker expression in recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) individuals. Results: CD4+ T-cell responses in late convalescent (>6 months of diagnosis) individuals are characterized by elevated frequencies of activated as well as mono, dual- and multi-functional Th1 and Th17 CD4+ T cells in comparison to early convalescent (<1 month of diagnosis) individuals following stimulation with SARS-CoV-2-specific antigens. Similarly, the frequencies of cytotoxic marker expressing CD4+ T cells were also enhanced in late convalescent compared to early convalescent individuals. Conclusion: Our findings from a low-to middle-income country suggest protective adaptive immune responses following natural infection of SARS-CoV-2 are elevated even at six months following initial symptoms, indicating the CD4+ T cell mediated immune protection lasts for six months or more in natural infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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