A new study suggests that infection with COVID-19 elicits a robust T cell response, including inducing T cell ‘memory’ that can help the recovered patients to potentially fight infections in the future. The findings were published in Nature Immunology.
While there is sufficient evidence of COVID-19-induced B cell antibody response, it is not clearly known whether COVID-19 stimulates the immune system to produce virus-specific T cells.
The research team led by the University of Oxford analysed blood samples from 28 and 14 patients with mild and severe COVID-19, respectively, along with samples from 16 healthy individuals to evaluate T cell response and memory.
The findings showed that individuals with mild COVID-19 infection exhibited a different pattern of T cell response compared with those with a more severe infection. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was often recognised by T-cells from patients who had recovered from COVID-19. Furthermore, other viral components, including the membrane and its nucleoprotein, were also found to provoke a strong T cell immune response.
Lead author, Professor Tao Dong said: "By studying the T cell immune response in depth and breadth, we will begin to build a better understanding of why some individuals develop milder disease, and how we might be able to prevent or treat infections."