POLYFUNCTIONAL SARS-CoV-2-SPECIFIC T CELLS PERSIST IN TISSUE OF COVID-19 CONVALESCENTS
Topics in Antiviral Medicine
; 31(2):136, 2023.
Article
in English
| EMBASE | ID: covidwho-2320713
ABSTRACT
Background:
T cells play an essential role in SARS-CoV-2 immunity, including in defense against severe COVID-19. However, most studies analyzing SARSCoV- 2-specific T cells have been limited to analysis of blood. Furthermore, the role of T cells in SARS-CoV-2 immunity in pregnant women, which are at disproportionately higher risk of severe COVID-19, is poorly understood. Method(s) Here, we quantitated and deeply phenotyped SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells from convalescent women (n=12) that had mild (non-hospitalized) COVID-19 during pregnancy. Endometrial, maternal blood, and fetal cord blood specimens were procured at term, which ranged from 3 days to 5 months post-infection. SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were deeply analyzed by CyTOF using a tailored phenotyping panel designed to assess the effector functions, differentiation states, and homing properties of the cells. Result(s) SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were more abundant in the endometrium than in maternal or fetal cord blood. In a particularly striking example, in one donor sampled 5 months after infection, SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells comprised 4.8% of total endometrial CD8+ T cells, while it only reached 1.4% in blood. Endometrial SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were more frequently of the memory phenotype relative to their counterparts in maternal and fetal cord blood, which harbored higher frequencies of naive T cells. Relative to their counterparts in blood, endometrial SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells exhibited unique phenotypic features, including preferential expression of the T resident memory marker CD69, inflammatory tissue-homing receptor CXCR4, and the activation marker 4-1BB. Endometrial T cells were highly polyfunctional, and could secrete IFNg, TNFa, MIP1b, IL2, and/or IL4 in response to spike peptide stimulation. By contrast, their counterparts in blood preferentially produced the cytolytic effectors perforin and granzyme B. Conclusion(s) Polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells primed by prior exposure to the virus are abundant and persist in endometrial tissue for months after infection. These cells exhibit unique phenotypic features including preferential expression of select chemokine receptors and activation molecules. Compared to their blood counterparts, the effector functions of these cells are more cytokine-driven and less cytolytic. The long-term persistence of these cells in the endometrium may help protect future pregnancies from SARS-CoV-2 re-infection.
adult; CD8+ T lymphocyte; clinical article; conference abstract; controlled study; convalescence; coronavirus disease 2019; endometrium; female; gene expression; homing behavior; human; human cell; human tissue; maternal blood; memory; nonhuman; phenotype; pregnancy; protein expression; protein function; reinfection; resident; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; spike; T lymphocyte; umbilical cord blood; CD69 antigen; chemokine receptor; chemokine receptor CXCR4; cytokine; endogenous compound; granzyme B; homing receptor; interleukin 2; interleukin 4; macrophage inflammatory protein 1beta; perforin; tumor necrosis factor; tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 9
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Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
EMBASE
Topics:
Long Covid
Language:
English
Journal:
Topics in Antiviral Medicine
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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