Abstract
Immunosuppressed organ-transplanted patients are considered at risk for severe forms of COVID-19. Moreover, exaggerated innate and adaptive immune responses might be involved in severe progression of the disease. However, no data on the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in transplanted patients are currently available. Here, we report the first assessment of antibody and T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 in 11 kidney-transplanted patients recovered from RT-PCR-confirmed (n = 5) or initially suspected (n = 6) COVID-19. After reduction of immunosuppressive therapy, RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 transplant patients were able to mount vigorous antiviral T cell and antibody responses, as efficiently as two nontherapeutically immunosuppressed COVID-19 patients on hemodialysis. By contrast, six RT-PCR-negative patients displayed no antibody response. Among them, three showed very low numbers of SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cells, whereas no T cell response was detected in the other three, potentially ruling out COVID-19 diagnosis. Low levels of T cell reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 were also detected in seronegative healthy controls without known exposure to the virus. These results suggest that during COVID-19, monitoring both T cell and serological immunity might be helpful for the differential diagnosis of COVID-19 but are also needed to evaluate a potential role of antiviral T cells in the development of severe forms of the disease.
Keywords: immunobiology; infection and infectious agents – viral; kidney transplantation / nephrology; monitoring: immune; translational research / science.
【저자키워드】 infection and infectious agents - viral, immunobiology, kidney transplantation / nephrology, monitoring: immune, translational research / science., 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, immune response, therapy, Immunity, Antiviral, antibody, T cells, Antibody Response, Infection, risk, Nephrology, progression, RT-PCR, virus, kidney, T cell, Antibody responses, Hemodialysis, Transplant, immune responses, T cell responses, Research, Patient, COVID-19 diagnosis, Adaptive immune response, serological, differential diagnosis, T cell response, seronegative, immunosuppressive therapy, immunobiology, Immunosuppressed, immunosuppressive, COVID-19 patient, infectious agents, exposure to, infectious agent, reduction, healthy control, severe forms of COVID-19, responses, evaluate, involved, the disease, form, reactivity, translational, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19 pandemic, T cell, experience, French,