Background Despite similar rates of infection, adults and children have markedly different morbidity and mortality related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Compared to adults, children have infrequent severe manifestations of acute infection but are uniquely at risk for the rare and often severe Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) following infection. We hypothesized that these differences in presentation are related to differences in the magnitude and/or antigen specificity of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell (CST) responses between adults and children. We therefore set out to measure the CST response in convalescent adults versus children with and without MIS-C following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods CSTs were expanded from blood collected from convalescent children and adults post SARS-CoV-2 infection and evaluated by intracellular flow cytometry, surface markers, and cytokine production following stimulation with SARS-CoV-2-specific peptides. Presence of serum/plasma antibody to spike and nucleocapsid was measured using the luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS) assay. Findings Twenty-six of 27 MIS-C patients, 7 of 8 non-MIS-C convalescent children, and 13 of 14 adults were seropositive for spike and nucleocapsid antibody. CST responses in MIS-C patients were significantly higher than children with uncomplicated SARS-CoV-2 infection, but weaker than CST responses in convalescent adults. Interpretation Age-related differences in the magnitude of CST responses suggest differing post-infectious immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in children compared to adults post uncomplicated infection. Children with MIS-C have CST responses that are stronger than children with uncomplicated SARS-CoV-2 infection and weaker than convalescent adults, despite near uniform seropositivity.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, pediatric, MIS-C, T cell, 【초록키워드】 Immunity, antibody, SARS-COV-2 infection, children, Infection, risk, cytokine, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, flow cytometry, MIS-C, Antigen, Severe acute respiratory syndrome, specificity, Adults, T cell, nucleocapsid, acute infection, response, Patient, peptides, Seropositivity, morbidity and mortality, respiratory, convalescent, patients, seropositive, cytokine production, Blood, Stimulation, Coronavirus-2, manifestation, Luciferase immunoprecipitation system, LIPS, acute respiratory syndrome, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, serum/plasma, finding, luciferase, SARS-CoV-2-specific peptides, surface markers, was measured, collected, evaluated, magnitude, significantly higher, CST, Presence, rates of infection, 【제목키워드】 T cell, response,