1. Surviving Older Patients Show Preserved Cellular and Humoral Immunological Memory Several Months After SARS-CoV-2 Infection.
- Author
-
García-Torre A, Bueno-García E, López-Martínez R, Rioseras B, Moro-García MA, Alonso-Alvarez S, Lluna-González A, Sousa-Fernández A, Fernández-Gudin M, Campos-Riopedre L, Castro-Del Cueto C, Pérez-Fernández AB, Alonso-Rodríguez A, Menéndez-Peña C, Menéndez-Peña L, García-Arnaldo N, Feito-Díaz E, Fernández-Lorences A, Fraile-Manzano A, Fernández-Iglesias C, Rivera JA, Pérez-Fonseca C, Urdiales-Ruano E, Debán-Fernández M, Mendes-Moreira H, Herrero-Puente P, and Alonso-Arias R
- Subjects
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay, Female, Humans, Immunoglobulin G, Male, Memory B Cells, Memory T Cells, Middle Aged, Antibodies, Viral immunology, COVID-19, Immunity, Cellular physiology, Immunity, Humoral, Immunologic Memory, SARS-CoV-2
- Abstract
Understanding how older people respond to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical if we are to confront the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and establish effective vaccination strategies. Immunosenescence reduces the ability to respond to neoantigens and may compromise the life of infected individuals. Here, we analyzed the immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 in 102 recovered patients aged over 60 years several months after the infection had been resolved. Specific memory T lymphocytes against the virus were measured by interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and granzyme B release by ELISpot; memory B-lymphocyte responses were quantified by detection of anti-S IgG1 producer cells by ELISpot and anti-S and anti-N antibodies were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Memory T lymphocytes were found in peripheral blood of most of the studied donors, more than 7 months after the infection in some of them. Fewer patients maintained memory B lymphocytes, but antibodies, mainly anti-S, were highly durable and positively correlated with T responses. More robust humoral responses were found in patients who had more severe symptoms and had been admitted to hospital. We concluded that specific immunity against SARS-CoV-2 is effectively preserved regardless of age, despite the great heterogeneity of their immune responses, and that memory T lymphocytes and anti-S IgG might be more durable than memory B cells and anti-N IgG., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF