A central feature of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is that some individuals become severely ill or die, whereas others have only a mild disease course or are asymptomatic. Here we report development of an improved multimeric αβ T cell staining reagent platform, with each maxi-ferritin "spheromer" displaying 12 peptide-MHC complexes. Spheromers stain specific T cells more efficiently than peptide-MHC tetramers and capture a broader portion of the sequence repertoire for a given peptide-MHC. Analyzing the response in unexposed individuals, we find that T cells recognizing peptides conserved amongst coronaviruses are more abundant and tend to have a "memory" phenotype, compared to those unique to SARS-CoV-2. Significantly, CD8+T cells with these conserved specificities are much more abundant in COVID-19 patients with mild disease versus those with a more severe illness, suggesting a protective role.
CITATION STYLE
Mallajosyula, V., Ganjavi, C., Chakraborty, S., McSween, A. M., Pavlovitch-Bedzyk, A. J., Wilhelmy, J., … Davis, M. M. (2021). CD8+T cells specific for conserved coronavirus epitopes correlate with milder disease in COVID-19 patients. Science Immunology, 6(61). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.abg5669
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.