Cross-reactive cellular, but not humoral, immunity is detected between OC43 and SARS-CoV-2 NPs in people not infected with SARS-CoV-2: Possible role of cT FH cells

Journal of Leukocyte Biology: An Official Publication of the Reticuloendothelial Society

article

Álvaro Fernando García-Jiménez¹  Yaiza Cáceres-Martell¹  Daniel Fernández-Soto¹  Pedro Martínez Fleta²  José M. Casasnovas³  Francisco Sánchez-Madrid²  José Miguel Rodríguez Frade¹  Mar Valés-Gómez¹  Hugh T. Reyburn¹ 

[1] Department of Immunology and Oncology, National Centre for Biotechnology;Immunology Department, Hospital Universitario La Princesa IIS-IP;Department of Macromolecular Structures, National Centre for Biotechnology

关键词: COVID-19;    cross-reactive immunity;    HCoV-OC43;    SARS-CoV-2;   

DOI  :  10.1002/JLB.4COVCRA0721-356RRR

学科分类：生理学

来源: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

【 摘 要 】

Multiple questions about SARS-CoV-2 humoral and cellular immunity remain unanswered. One key question is whether preexisting memory T or B cells, specific for related coronaviruses in SARS-CoV-2-unexposed individuals, can recognize and suppress COVID-19, but this issue remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 antigens are restricted to serum samples from COVID-19 convalescent individuals. In contrast, cross-reactive T cell proliferation and IFN-γ production responses were detected in PBMCs of around 30% of donor samples collected prepandemic, although we found that these prepandemic T cell responses only elicited weak cT FH activation upon stimulation with either HCoV-OC43 or SARS-CoV-2 NP protein. Overall, these observations confirm that T cell cross-reactive with SARS-CoV-2 antigens are present in unexposed people, but suggest that the T cell response to HCoV-OC43 could be deficient in some important aspects, like T FH expansion, that might compromise the generation of cross-reactive T FH cells and antibodies. Understanding these differences in cellular responses may be of critical importance to advance in our knowledge of immunity against SARS-CoV-2.

【 授权许可】

CC BY