IFN-γ is Produced by Pd-1 + Cells Among SARS-CoV-2-Specific MHC-I Multimer+CD8 + T Cells in Acute and Convalescent COVID-19 Patients

Memory T-cell responses have been demonstrated after recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the phenotypes of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells have not been comprehensively investigated ex vivo. We detected SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells by MHC-I multimer staining and examined their phenotypes in relation to their functional capacity in acute and convalescent COVID-19. In the convalescent phase, multimer+ cells exhibited early differentiated effector-memory phenotypes. The frequency of CD127+KLRG1- memory precursor effector cells among multimer+ cells was significantly lower in convalescent individuals with severe disease than those with mild disease. Cytokine-secretion assays combined with MHC-I multimer staining revealed that the proportion of IFN-γ-producing cells was significantly lower among SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells than those specific to other viruses. Importantly, the proportion of IFN-γ-producing cells was significantly higher in PD-1+ cells than PD-1- cells among multimer+ cells in both the acute and convalescence phases, indicating that PD-1-expressing, SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells are not exhausted, but functional. Our findings provide insights for effective vaccine development.