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Cross-reactive memory T cells associate with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in COVID-19 contacts
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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Figure1.pdf | Accepted version | 138.44 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Figure2.pdf | Accepted version | 111.03 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Figure3.pdf | Accepted version | 81.08 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Supplementary Information.pdf | Supporting information | 486.18 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
41467_2021_Article_27674.pdf | Accepted version | 963.14 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Title: | Cross-reactive memory T cells associate with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in COVID-19 contacts |
Authors: | Kundu, R Sam Narean, J Wang, L Fenn, J Pillay, T Derqui, N Conibear, E Koycheva, A Davies, M Tolosa-Wright, M Hakki, S Varro, R McDermott, E Hammett, S Cutajar, J Thwaites, R Parker, E Rosados, C McClure, M Tedder, R Taylor, G Dunning, J Lalvani, A |
Item Type: | Journal Article |
Abstract: | Cross-reactive immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 have been observed in pre-pandemic cohorts and proposed to contribute to host protection. Here we assess 52 COVID-19 household contacts to capture immune responses at the earliest timepoints after SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Using a dual cytokine FLISpot assay on peripheral blood mononuclear cells, we enumerate the frequency of T cells specific for spike, nucleocapsid, membrane, envelope and ORF1 SARS-CoV-2 epitopes that cross-react with human endemic coronaviruses. We observe higher frequencies of cross-reactive (p=0.0139), and nucleocapsid-specific (p=0.0355) IL-2-secreting memory T cells in contacts who remained PCR-negative despite exposure (n=26), when compared with those who convert to PCR-positive (n=26); no significant difference in the frequency of responses to spike is observed, hinting at a limited protective function of spike-cross-reactive T cells. Our results are thus consistent with pre-existing non-spike cross-reactive memory T cells protecting SARS-CoV-2-naïve contacts from infection, thereby supporting the inclusion of non-spike antigens in second-generation vaccines. |
Date of Acceptance: | 1-Dec-2021 |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/93018 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-021-27674-x |
ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
Publisher: | Nature Research |
Journal / Book Title: | Nature Communications |
Volume: | 13 |
Copyright Statement: | © The Author(s) 2022 |
Sponsor/Funder: | Medical Research Council (MRC) National Institute for Health Research |
Funder's Grant Number: | MR/R021643/1 NIHR200927 |
Publication Status: | Published |
Article Number: | 80 |
Appears in Collections: | Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction Department of Infectious Diseases National Heart and Lung Institute Faculty of Medicine |
This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License