Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Schulien, Isabel
• Kemming, Janine
• Oberhardt, Valerie
• Wild, Katharina
• Seidel, Lea M.
• Killmer, Saskia
• Sagar
• Daul, Franziska
• Salvat Lago, Marilyn
• Decker, Annegrit
• Luxenburger, Hendrik
• Binder, Benedikt
• Bettinger, Dominik
• Sogukpinar, Oezlem
• Rieg, Siegbert
• Panning, Marcus
• Huzly, Daniela
• Schwemmle, Martin
• Kochs, Georg
• Waller, Cornelius F.
• Nieters, Alexandra
• Duerschmied, Daniel
• Emmerich, Florian
• Mei, Henrik E.
• Schulz, Axel Ronald
• Llewellyn-Lacey, Sian
• Price, David A.
• Boettler, Tobias
• Bengsch, Bertram
• Thimme, Robert
• Hofmann, Maike
• Neumann-Haefelin, Christoph

Titel

Characterization of pre-existing and induced SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells

Ist Teil von

• Nature medicine, 2021-01, Vol.27 (1), p.78-85

Ort / Verlag

New York: Nature Publishing Group US

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Emerging data indicate that SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8 + T cells targeting different viral proteins are detectable in up to 70% of convalescent individuals 1 – 5 . However, very little information is currently available about the abundance, phenotype, functional capacity and fate of pre-existing and induced SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8 + T cell responses during the natural course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we define a set of optimal and dominant SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8 + T cell epitopes. We also perform a high-resolution ex vivo analysis of pre-existing and induced SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8 + T cells, applying peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex class I (pMHCI) tetramer technology. We observe rapid induction, prolonged contraction and emergence of heterogeneous and functionally competent cross-reactive and induced memory CD8 + T cell responses in cross-sectionally analyzed individuals with mild disease following SARS-CoV-2 infection and three individuals longitudinally assessed for their T cells pre- and post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2-specific memory CD8 + T cells exhibited functional characteristics comparable to influenza-specific CD8 + T cells and were detectable in SARS-CoV-2 convalescent individuals who were seronegative for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies targeting spike (S) and nucleoprotein (N). These results define cross-reactive and induced SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8 + T cell responses as potentially important determinants of immune protection in mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. Functionally competent memory CD8 + T cells specific for different viral epitopes are induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection and can be detected in the absence of virus-specific antibodies.