Abstract
CD4 + T cells are central to long-term immunity against viruses through the functions of T helper 1 (T H 1) and T follicular helper (T FH ) cell subsets. To better understand the role of these subsets in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) immunity, we conducted a longitudinal study of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific CD4 + T cell and antibody responses in convalescent individuals who seroconverted during the first wave of the pandemic in Boston, MA, USA, across a range of COVID-19 disease severities. Analyses of spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) epitope-specific CD4 + T cells using peptide and major histocompatibility complex class II (pMHCII) tetramers demonstrated expanded populations of T cells recognizing the different SARS-CoV-2 epitopes in most individuals compared with prepandemic controls. Individuals who experienced a milder disease course not requiring hospitalization had a greater percentage of circulating T FH (cT FH ) and T H 1 cells among SARS-CoV-2-specific cells. Analysis of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 + T cells responses in a subset of individuals with sustained anti-S antibody responses after viral clearance also revealed an increased proportion of memory cT FH cells. Our findings indicate that efficient early disease control also predicts favorable long-term adaptive immunity.
【초록키워드】 COVID-19, coronavirus disease, Coronavirus disease 2019, coronavirus, pandemic, adaptive, Immunity, Hospitalization, T cells, Antibody Response, peptide, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, CD4, viral clearance, Population, memory, COVID-19 disease, Epitopes, T cell, Antibody responses, cells, longitudinal study, nucleocapsid, response, disease control, USA, epitope, disease, First wave, predict, SARS-CoV-2 epitopes, function, T cells response, major histocompatibility complex, early disease, T helper, acute respiratory syndrome, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, individual, disease course, circulating, functions, convalescent individuals, Boston, anti-S antibody, controls, Cell, convalescent individual, greater, virus, proportion, conducted, seroconverted, demonstrated, recognizing, subset, sustained, histocompatibility complex, follicular, SARS-CoV-2 epitope, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, antibody, CD4, response, COVID-19 disease severity, memory T, Cell,