Dynamics of CD4 T Cell and Antibody Responses in COVID-19 Patients With Different Disease Severity

Frontiers in Medicine

article

Maximilian Koblischke¹  Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl¹  Stephan W. Aberle¹  Manuela Födinger²  Andreas Bergthaler⁴  Michael Kundi⁵  Franz X. Heinz¹  Karin Stiasny¹  Judith H. Aberle¹  Marianna T. Traugott⁶  Iris Medits¹  Felicia S. Spitzer¹  Alexander Zoufaly⁶  Lukas Weseslindtner¹  Cara Simonitsch¹  Tamara Seitz⁶  Wolfgang Hoepler⁶ 

[1] Center for Virology, Medical University of Vienna;Institute of Laboratory Diagnostics, Clinic Favoriten, Vienna Healthcare Group;Medical Faculty, Sigmund Freud Private University;Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences;Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna;Department of Medicine IV, Clinic Favoriten, Vienna Healthcare Group

关键词: SARS-CoV-2;    COVID-19 patients;    adaptive immunity;    SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies;    SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2020.592629

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ranges from mild illness to severe respiratory disease and death. In this study, we determined the kinetics of viral loads, antibody responses (IgM, IgG, neutralization) and SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 T cells by quantifying these parameters in 435 serial respiratory and blood samples collected from a cohort of 29 COVID-19 patients with either moderate or severe disease during the whole period of hospitalization or until death. Remarkably, there was no significant difference in the kinetics and plateau levels of neutralizing antibodies among the groups with different disease severity. In contrast, the dynamics of specific CD4 T cell responses differed considerably, but all patients with moderate or severe disease developed robust SARS-CoV-2-specific responses. Of note, none of the patients had detectable cross-reactive CD4 T cells in the first week after symptom onset, which have been described in 20–50% of unexposed individuals. Our data thus provide novel insights into the kinetics of antibody and CD4 T cell responses as well as viral loads that are key to understanding the role of adaptive immunity in combating the virus during acute infection and provide leads for the timing of immune therapies for COVID-19.

【 授权许可】

CC BY