Durable T-cellular and humoral responses in SARS-CoV-2 hospitalized and community patients

Das, J. et al. (2022) Durable T-cellular and humoral responses in SARS-CoV-2 hospitalized and community patients. PLoS ONE, 17(2), e0261979. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261979) (PMID:35192617) (PMCID:PMC8863217)

Abstract

Background Neutralizing antibodies are important for protection against the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus, and long-term memory responses determine the risk of re-infection or boosting after vaccination. T-cellular responses are considered important for partial protection against novel variants of concern. Methods A prospective cohort of hospitalized (n = 14) and community (n = 38) patients with rt-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were recruited. Blood samples and clinical data were collected when diagnosed and at 6 months. Serum samples were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2-spike specific antibodies using ELISA (IgG, IgA, IgM), pseudotype neutralization and microneutralization assays. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were investigated for virus-specific T-cell responses in the interferon-γ and interleukin-2 fluorescent-linked immunosorbent spot (FluroSpot) assay. Results We found durable SARS-CoV-2 spike- and internal protein specific T-cellular responses in patients with persistent antibodies at 6 months. Significantly higher IL-2 and IFN-γ secreting T-cell responses as well as SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and neutralizing antibodies were detected in hospitalized compared to community patients. The immune response was impacted by age, gender, comorbidity and severity of illness, reflecting clinical observations. Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cellular and antibody responses persisted for 6 months post confirmed infection. In previously infected patients, re-exposure or vaccination will boost long-term immunity, possibly providing protection against re-infection with variant viruses.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the Trond Mohn Stiftelse (RJC, grant number, TMS2020TMT05), the Ministry of Health and Care Services, Norway; Helse Vest (RJC, grant number F-11628), the Norwegian Research Council Globvac (RJC, grant number 284930); the European Union (RJC, grant numbers EU IMI115672, FLUCOP, H2020 874866 INCENTIVE, H2020 101037867 Vaccelerate); the Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Norway; and Nanomedicines Flunanoair (RJC, grant number ERA-NETet EuroNanoMed2 i JTC2016). RUHS/FHU receives support from Trond Mohn Stiftelse (TMS).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Cantoni, Dr Diego

Creator Roles

Cantoni, D.: Data curation, Methodology, Validation, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Das, J., Mohn, K. G.-I., Bredholt, G., Zhou, F., Madsen, A., Onyango, T. B., Fjelltveit, E. B., Jalloh, S. L., Brokstad, K. A., Cantoni, D., Mayora-Neto, M., Temperton, N., Langeland, N., and Cox, R. J.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
• Journal Name: PLoS ONE
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• ISSN (Online): 1932-6203
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © 2022 Mohn et al.
• First Published: First published in PLoS ONE 17(2): e0261979
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence