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Li Y, Xiao J, Li C, Yang M. Memory inflation: Beyond the acute phase of viral infection. Cell Prolif 2024:e13705. [PMID: 38992867 DOI: 10.1111/cpr.13705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 06/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Memory inflation is confirmed as the most commonly dysregulation of host immunity with antigen-independent manner in mammals after viral infection. By generating large numbers of effector/memory and terminal differentiated effector memory CD8+ T cells with diminished naïve subsets, memory inflation is believed to play critical roles in connecting the viral infection and the onset of multiple diseases. Here, we reviewed the current understanding of memory inflated CD8+ T cells in their distinct phenotypic features that different from exhausted subsets; the intrinsic and extrinsic roles in regulating the formation of memory inflation; and the key proteins in maintaining the expansion and proliferation of inflationary populations. More importantly, based on the evidences from both clinic and animal models, we summarized the potential mechanisms of memory inflation to trigger autoimmune neuropathies, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and multiple sclerosis; the correlations of memory inflation between tumorigenesis and resistance of tumour immunotherapies; as well as the effects of memory inflation to facilitate vascular disease progression. To sum up, better understanding of memory inflation could provide us an opportunity to beyond the acute phase of viral infection, and shed a light on the long-term influences of CD8+ T cell heterogeneity in dampen host immune homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanfei Li
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Jie Xiao
- Centre for Translational Research in Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Chen Li
- Centre for Translational Research in Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Mu Yang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- Centre for Translational Research in Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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2
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Müller S, Kröger C, Schultze JL, Aschenbrenner AC. Whole blood stimulation as a tool for studying the human immune system. Eur J Immunol 2024; 54:e2350519. [PMID: 38103010 DOI: 10.1002/eji.202350519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
The human immune system is best accessible via tissues and organs not requiring major surgical intervention, such as blood. In many circumstances, circulating immune cells correlate with an individual's health state and give insight into physiological and pathophysiological processes. Stimulating whole blood ex vivo is a powerful tool to investigate immune responses. In the context of clinical research, the applications of whole blood stimulation include host immunity, disease characterization, diagnosis, treatment, and drug development. Here, we summarize different setups and readouts of whole blood assays and discuss applications for preclinical research and clinical practice. Finally, we propose combining whole blood stimulation with high-throughput technologies, such as single-cell RNA-sequencing, to comprehensively analyze the human immune system for the identification of biomarkers, therapeutic interventions as well as companion diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Müller
- Systems Medicine, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) e.V., Bonn, Germany
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Genomics & Immunoregulation, Life and Medical Sciences (LIMES) Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Charlotte Kröger
- Systems Medicine, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) e.V., Bonn, Germany
- Genomics & Immunoregulation, Life and Medical Sciences (LIMES) Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Joachim L Schultze
- Systems Medicine, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) e.V., Bonn, Germany
- Genomics & Immunoregulation, Life and Medical Sciences (LIMES) Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- PRECISE Platform for Single Cell Genomics and Epigenomics, DZNE and University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Anna C Aschenbrenner
- Systems Medicine, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) e.V., Bonn, Germany
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Lineburg KE, Crooks P, Raju J, Le Texier L, Khaledi P, Berry K, Swaminathan S, Panikkar A, Rehan S, Guppy-Coles K, Neller MA, Khanna R, Smith C. Breakthrough SARS-COV-2 infection induces broad anti-viral T cell immunity. iScience 2023; 26:108474. [PMID: 38077128 PMCID: PMC10698266 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Vaccines have curtailed the devastation wrought by COVID-19. Nevertheless, emerging variants result in a high incidence of breakthrough infections. Here we assess the impact of vaccination and breakthrough infection on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) T cell immunity. We demonstrate that COVID-19 vaccination induces robust spike-specific T cell responses that, within the CD4+ compartment, display comparable IFN-γ responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection without vaccination. Vaccine-induced CD8+ IFN-γ responses however, were significantly greater than those primed by SARS-CoV-2 infection alone. This increased responsiveness is associated with induction of novel HLA-restricted CD8+ T cell epitopes not primed by infection alone (without vaccination). Despite these augmented responses, breakthrough infection still induced de novo T cell responses against additional SARS-CoV-2 CD8+ epitopes that display HLA-associated immunodominance hierarchies consistent with those in unvaccinated COVID-19 convalescent individuals. This study demonstrates the unique modulation of anti-viral T cell responses against multiple viral antigens following consecutive yet distinct priming events in COVID-19 vaccination and breakthrough infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie Eireann Lineburg
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Pauline Crooks
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Jyothy Raju
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Laetitia Le Texier
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Panteha Khaledi
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Kiana Berry
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Srividhya Swaminathan
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Archana Panikkar
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Sweera Rehan
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Kristyan Guppy-Coles
- Cardiology, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Metro North Hospital and Health Services, Queensland Health, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Michelle Anne Neller
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Rajiv Khanna
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Corey Smith
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
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Clarkson BDS, Johnson RK, Bingel C, Lothaller C, Howe CL. Preservation of antigen-specific responses in cryopreserved CD4 + and CD8 + T cells expanded with IL-2 and IL-7. J Transl Autoimmun 2022; 5:100173. [PMID: 36467614 PMCID: PMC9713293 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtauto.2022.100173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives We sought to develop medium throughput standard operating procedures for screening cryopreserved human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses to potential autoantigens. Methods Dendritic cells were loaded with a peptide cocktail from ubiquitous viruses or full-length viral protein antigens and cocultured with autologous T cells. We measured expression of surface activation markers on T cells by flow cytometry and cytometry by time of flight 24-72 h later. We tested responses among T cells freshly isolated from healthy control PBMCs, cryopreserved T cells, and T cells derived from a variety of T cell expansion protocols. We also compared the transcriptional profile of CD8+ T cells rested with interleukin (IL)7 for 48 h after 1) initial thawing, 2) expansion, and 3) secondary cryopreservation/thawing of expanded cells. To generate competent antigen presenting cells from PBMCs, we promoted differentiation of PBMCs into dendritic cells with granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor and IL-4. Results We observed robust dendritic cell differentiation from human PBMCs treated with 50 ng/mL GM-CSF and 20 ng/mL IL-4 in as little as 3 days. Dendritic cell purity was substantially increased by magnetically enriching for CD14+ monocytes prior to differentiation. We also measured antigen-dependent T cell activation in DC-T cell cocultures. However, polyclonal expansion of T cells with anti-CD3/antiCD28 abolished antigen-dependent upregulation of CD69 in our assay despite minimal transcriptional differences between rested CD8+ T cells before and after expansion. Furthermore, resting these expanded T cells in IL-2, IL-7 or IL-15 did not restore the antigen dependent responses. In contrast, T cells that were initially expanded with IL-2 + IL-7 rather than plate bound anti-CD3 + anti-CD28 retained responsiveness to antigen stimulation and these responses strongly correlated with responses measured at initial thawing. Significance While screening techniques for potential pathological autoantibodies have come a long way, comparable full-length protein target assays for screening patient T cells at medium throughput are noticeably lacking due to technical hurdles. Here we advance techniques that should have broad applicability to translational studies investigating cell mediated immunity in infectious or autoimmune diseases. Future studies are aimed at investigating possible CD8+ T cell autoantigens in MS and other CNS autoimmune diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin DS. Clarkson
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA,Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA,Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA,Corresponding author. Mayo Clinic, Guggenheim 1521C, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905.
| | | | - Corinna Bingel
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Pediatric Oncology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Charles L. Howe
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA,Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA,Division of Experimental Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA,Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA
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5
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O’Donnell KL, Gourdine T, Fletcher P, Clancy CS, Marzi A. Protection from COVID-19 with a VSV-based vaccine expressing the spike and nucleocapsid proteins. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1025500. [PMID: 36353642 PMCID: PMC9638159 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1025500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful vaccine efforts countering the COVID-19 pandemic are centralized around the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein as viral antigen and have greatly reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19. Since the start of this pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 has evolved resulting in new variants of concern (VOC) challenging the vaccine-established immunologic memory. We show that vaccination with a vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-based vaccine expressing the SARS-CoV-2 S plus the conserved nucleocapsid (N) protein was protective in a hamster challenge model when a single dose was administered 28 or 10 days prior to challenge, respectively. In this study, only intranasal vaccination resulted in protection against challenge with multiple VOC highlighting that the addition of the N protein indeed improved protective efficacy. This data demonstrates the ability of a VSV-based dual-antigen vaccine to reduce viral shedding and protect from disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 VOC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle L. O’Donnell
- Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, United States
| | - Tylisha Gourdine
- Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, United States
| | - Paige Fletcher
- Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, United States
| | - Chad S. Clancy
- Rocky Mountain Veterinary Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, United States
| | - Andrea Marzi
- Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, United States
- *Correspondence: Andrea Marzi,
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Limited Recognition of Highly Conserved Regions of SARS-CoV-2. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0278021. [PMID: 35196796 PMCID: PMC8865427 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02780-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is critical to overcome the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Efforts are being made to understand the potential cross-protective immunity of memory T cells, induced by prior encounters with seasonal coronaviruses, in providing protection against severe COVID-19. In this study we assessed T-cell responses directed against highly conserved regions of SARS-CoV-2. Epitope mapping revealed 16 CD8+ T-cell epitopes across the nucleocapsid (N), spike (S), and open reading frame (ORF)3a proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and five CD8+ T-cell epitopes encoded within the highly conserved regions of the ORF1ab polyprotein of SARS-CoV-2. Comparative sequence analysis showed high conservation of SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab T-cell epitopes in seasonal coronaviruses. Paradoxically, the immune responses directed against the conserved ORF1ab epitopes were infrequent and subdominant in both convalescent and unexposed participants. This subdominant immune response was consistent with a low abundance of ORF1ab encoded proteins in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells. Overall, these observations suggest that while cross-reactive CD8+ T cells likely exist in unexposed individuals, they are not common and therefore are unlikely to play a significant role in providing broad preexisting immunity in the community. IMPORTANCE T cells play a critical role in protection against SARS-CoV-2. Despite being highly topical, the protective role of preexisting memory CD8+ T cells, induced by prior exposure to circulating common coronavirus strains, remains less clear. In this study, we established a robust approach to specifically assess T cell responses to highly conserved regions within SARS-CoV-2. Consistent with recent observations we demonstrate that recognition of these highly conserved regions is associated with an increased likelihood of milder disease. However, extending these observations we observed that recognition of these conserved regions is rare in both exposed and unexposed volunteers, which we believe is associated with the low abundance of these proteins in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells. These observations have important implications for the likely role preexisting immunity plays in controlling severe disease, further emphasizing the importance of vaccination to generate the immunodominant T cells required for immune protection.
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7
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Taus E, Hofmann C, Ibarrondo FJ, Hausner MA, Fulcher JA, Krogstad P, Ferbas KG, Tobin NH, Rimoin AW, Aldrovandi GM, Yang OO. Dominant CD8 + T Cell Nucleocapsid Targeting in SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Broad Spike Targeting From Vaccination. Front Immunol 2022; 13:835830. [PMID: 35273611 PMCID: PMC8902813 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.835830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
CD8+ T cells have key protective roles in many viral infections. While an overall Th1-biased cellular immune response against SARS-CoV-2 has been demonstrated, most reports of anti-SARS-CoV-2 cellular immunity have evaluated bulk T cells using pools of predicted epitopes, without clear delineation of the CD8+ subset and its magnitude and targeting. In recently infected persons (mean 29.8 days after COVID-19 symptom onset), we confirm a Th1 bias (and a novel IL-4-producing population of unclear significance) by flow cytometry, which does not correlate to antibody responses against the receptor binding domain. Evaluating isolated CD8+ T cells in more detail by IFN-γ ELISpot assays, responses against spike, nucleocapsid, matrix, and envelope proteins average 396, 901, 296, and 0 spot-forming cells (SFC) per million, targeting 1.4, 1.5, 0.59, and 0.0 epitope regions respectively. Nucleocapsid targeting is dominant in terms of magnitude, breadth, and density of targeting. The magnitude of responses drops rapidly post-infection; nucleocapsid targeting is most sustained, and vaccination selectively boosts spike targeting. In SARS-CoV-2-naïve persons, evaluation of the anti-spike CD8+ T cell response soon after vaccination (mean 11.3 days) yields anti-spike CD8+ T cell responses averaging 2,463 SFC/million against 4.2 epitope regions, and targeting mirrors that seen in infected persons. These findings provide greater clarity on CD8+ T cell anti-SARS-CoV-2 targeting, breadth, and persistence, suggesting that nucleocapsid inclusion in vaccines could broaden coverage and durability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellie Taus
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Christian Hofmann
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Francisco Javier Ibarrondo
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Mary Ann Hausner
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Jennifer A. Fulcher
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Paul Krogstad
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Kathie G. Ferbas
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Nicole H. Tobin
- Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Anne W. Rimoin
- Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Grace M. Aldrovandi
- Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Otto O. Yang
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Wieland E. Immunological Biomarkers in Blood to Monitor the Course and Therapeutic Outcomes of COVID-19. Ther Drug Monit 2022; 44:148-165. [PMID: 34840314 DOI: 10.1097/ftd.0000000000000945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a great challenge to the medical community because little is known about its clinical course, therapeutic options, and laboratory monitoring tools for diagnosis, prognosis, and surveillance. This review focuses on immune biomarkers that can be measured in peripheral blood in a clinical laboratory under routine conditions to monitor the innate immune system response in the acute phase, as well as the adaptive immune response established both after infection and vaccination. METHODS A PubMed search was performed covering January 2020 to June 2021 to extract biomarkers suitable for monitoring the immune response and outcome of COVID-19 and therapeutic interventions, including vaccination. RESULTS To monitor the innate immune response, cytokines such as interleukin-6 or acute phase reactants such as C-reactive protein or procalcitonin can be measured on autoanalyzers complemented by automated white blood cell differential counts. The adaptive immune response can be followed by commercially available enzyme-linked immune spot assays to assess the specific activation of T cells or by monitoring immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgM, and IgG antibodies in serum to follow B-cell activation. As antigens of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, spike and nucleocapsid proteins are particularly suitable and allow differentiation between the immune response after infection or vaccination. CONCLUSIONS Routine immune monitoring of COVID-19 is feasible in clinical laboratories with commercially available instruments and reagents. Strategies such as whether biomarkers reflecting the response of the innate and adaptive immune system can be used to make predictions and assist in individualizing therapeutic interventions or vaccination strategies need to be determined in appropriate clinical trials. Promising preliminary data are already available based on single-center reports and completed or ongoing vaccination trials.
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9
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Panikkar A, Lineburg KE, Raju J, Chew KY, Ambalathingal GR, Rehan S, Swaminathan S, Crooks P, Le Texier L, Beagley L, Best S, Solomon M, Matthews KK, Srihari S, Neller MA, Short KR, Khanna R, Smith C. SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells generated for adoptive immunotherapy are capable of recognizing multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010339. [PMID: 35157735 PMCID: PMC8880869 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Adoptive T-cell immunotherapy has provided promising results in the treatment of viral complications in humans, particularly in the context of immunocompromised patients who have exhausted all other clinical options. The capacity to expand T cells from healthy immune individuals is providing a new approach to anti-viral immunotherapy, offering rapid off-the-shelf treatment with tailor-made human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched T cells. While most of this research has focused on the treatment of latent viral infections, emerging evidence that SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells play an important role in protection against COVID-19 suggests that the transfer of HLA-matched allogeneic off-the-shelf virus-specific T cells could provide a treatment option for patients with active COVID-19 or at risk of developing COVID-19. We initially screened 60 convalescent individuals and based on HLA typing and T-cell response profile, 12 individuals were selected for the development of a SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell bank. We demonstrate that these T cells are specific for up to four SARS-CoV-2 antigens presented by a broad range of both HLA class I and class II alleles. These T cells show consistent functional and phenotypic properties, display cytotoxic potential against HLA-matched targets and can recognize HLA-matched cells infected with different SARS-CoV-2 variants. These observations demonstrate a robust approach for the production of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells and provide the impetus for the development of a T-cell repository for clinical assessment. Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants that reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, it is evident that other interventional strategies will be needed to treat COVID-19, particularly in patients with a compromised immune system who are at an increased risk of developing severe COVID-19. Off-the-shelf T-cell immunotherapy is proving to be a powerful tool to treat viral disease in patients with a compromised immune system. Here, we report here that a small number of SARS-CoV-2 exposed individuals can be used generate a bank of specific T cells that provide broad population coverage. Importantly, we demonstrate that most of the epitopes recognized by these T cells remain unchanged in different variants and that the T cells can recognize cells infected with three different variants of SARS-CoV-2. We believe these observations provide critical proof-of-concept that T-cell based immunotherapy may offer an option for the future treatment of immunocompromised patients who remain susceptible to the severe complications associated with COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Archana Panikkar
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Katie E. Lineburg
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jyothy Raju
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Keng Yih Chew
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Queensland, Australia
| | - George R. Ambalathingal
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sweera Rehan
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Srividhya Swaminathan
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Pauline Crooks
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Laetitia Le Texier
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Leone Beagley
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Shannon Best
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Matthew Solomon
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Katherine K. Matthews
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sriganesh Srihari
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Michelle A. Neller
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Kirsty R. Short
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Queensland, Australia
- Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Queensland, Australia
| | - Rajiv Khanna
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Corey Smith
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia
- * E-mail:
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10
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De Rosa SC, Cohen KW, Bonaparte M, Fu B, Garg S, Gerard C, Goepfert PA, Huang Y, Larocque D, McElrath MJ, Morris D, Van der Most R, de Bruyn G, Pagnon A. Whole-blood cytokine secretion assay as a high-throughput alternative for assessing the cell-mediated immunity profile after two doses of an adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 recombinant protein vaccine candidate. Clin Transl Immunology 2022; 11:e1360. [PMID: 35035955 PMCID: PMC8752373 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We previously described the Phase I-II evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant protein candidate vaccine, CoV2-PreS-dTM, with AF03- or AS03-adjuvant systems (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04537208). Here, we further characterise the cellular immunogenicity profile of this vaccine candidate using a whole-blood secretion assay in parallel to intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) of cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). METHODS A randomly allocated subset of 90 healthy, SARS-CoV-2-seronegative adults aged ≥ 18 years who had received (random allocation) one or two separate injections (on study day [D]1 and D22) of saline placebo or CoV2-PreS-dTM formulated with AS03 or AF03 were included. Cytokine secretion was assessed using a TruCulture® whole-blood stimulation system in combination with multiplex bead array, and intracellular cytokine profiles were evaluated on thawed PBMCs following ex vivo stimulation with recombinant S protein at pre-vaccination (D1), post-dose 1 (D22) and post-dose 2 (D36). RESULTS Both methods detected similar vaccine-induced responses after the first and second doses. We observed a Th1 bias (Th1/Th2 ratio > 1.0) for most treatment groups when analysed in whole blood, mainly characterised by increased IFN-γ, IL-2 and TNF-α secretion. Among participants aged ≥ 50 years, the Th1/Th2 ratio was higher for those who received vaccine candidate with AS03 versus AF03 adjuvant. ICS revealed that this higher Th1/Th2 ratio resulted from higher levels of IFN-γ expression and that the vaccine induced polyfunctional CD4+ T cells. CONCLUSIONS The whole-blood cytokine secretion assay is a high-throughput alternative for assessing the quantity and character of vaccine-induced cellular responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen C De Rosa
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterSeattleWAUSA
| | - Kristen W Cohen
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterSeattleWAUSA
| | | | - Bo Fu
- BiostaticsSanofi PasteurSwiftwaterPAUSA
| | | | | | - Paul A Goepfert
- Department of MedicineUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamALUSA
| | - Ying Huang
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterSeattleWAUSA
| | | | - M. Juliana McElrath
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterSeattleWAUSA
| | - Daryl Morris
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterSeattleWAUSA
| | | | - Guy de Bruyn
- Global Clinical DevelopmentSanofi PasteurSwiftwaterPAUSA
| | - Anke Pagnon
- Research DepartmentSanofi PasteurMarcy l’ÉtoileFrance
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11
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Lineburg KE, Neller MA, Ambalathingal GR, Le Texier L, Raju J, Swaminathan S, Lekieffre L, Smith C, Rehan S, Crooks P, Panikkar A, Srihari S, Khanna R, Smith C. Rapid whole-blood assay to detect SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T-cell immunity following a single dose of AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S COVID-19 vaccine. Clin Transl Immunology 2021; 10:e1326. [PMID: 34408875 PMCID: PMC8360255 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES With the ongoing emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and potential to evade vaccine-induced neutralisation, understanding the magnitude and breadth of vaccine-induced T-cell immunity will be critical for the ongoing optimisation of vaccine approaches. Strategies that provide a rapid and easily translatable means of assessing virus-specific T-cell responses provide an opportunity to monitor the impact of vaccine rollouts in the community. In this study, we assessed whether our recently developed SARS-CoV-2 whole-blood assay could be used effectively to analyse T-cell responses following vaccination. METHODS Following a median of 15 days after the first dose of the ChAdOx1-S (AstraZeneca®) vaccine, peripheral blood was isolated from 58 participants. Blood was incubated overnight with an overlapping set of spike protein peptides and assessed for cytokine production using a cytometric bead array. RESULTS The majority of vaccine recipients (51/58) generated a T helper 1 response (IFN-γ and/or IL-2) following a single dose of ChAdOx1-S. The magnitude of the IFN-γ and IL-2 response strongly correlated in vaccine recipients. While the production of other cytokines was evident in individuals who did not generate IFN-γ and IL-2, they showed no correlation in magnitude, nor did we see a correlation between sex or age and the magnitude of the response. CONCLUSIONS The whole-blood cytokine assay provides a rapid approach to assessing T-cell immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in vaccine recipients. While the majority of participants generated a robust SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell response following their first dose, some did not, demonstrating the likely importance of the booster dose in improving T-cell immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie E Lineburg
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Michelle A Neller
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - George R Ambalathingal
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Laetitia Le Texier
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Jyothy Raju
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Srividhya Swaminathan
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
- Faculty of MedicineThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Lea Lekieffre
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Caitlyn Smith
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Sweera Rehan
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Pauline Crooks
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Archana Panikkar
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Sriganesh Srihari
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Rajiv Khanna
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
- Faculty of MedicineThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Corey Smith
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology LaboratoryDepartment of ImmunologyQIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLDAustralia
- Faculty of MedicineThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
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12
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Duerr R, Crosse KM, Valero-Jimenez AM, Dittmann M. SARS-CoV-2 Portrayed against HIV: Contrary Viral Strategies in Similar Disguise. Microorganisms 2021; 9:1389. [PMID: 34198973 PMCID: PMC8307803 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9071389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 and HIV are zoonotic viruses that rapidly reached pandemic scale, causing global losses and fear. The COVID-19 and AIDS pandemics ignited massive efforts worldwide to develop antiviral strategies and characterize viral architectures, biological and immunological properties, and clinical outcomes. Although both viruses have a comparable appearance as enveloped viruses with positive-stranded RNA and envelope spikes mediating cellular entry, the entry process, downstream biological and immunological pathways, clinical outcomes, and disease courses are strikingly different. This review provides a systemic comparison of both viruses' structural and functional characteristics, delineating their distinct strategies for efficient spread.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralf Duerr
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; (K.M.C.); (A.M.V.-J.); (M.D.)
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13
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Ahluwalia P, Vaibhav K, Ahluwalia M, Mondal AK, Sahajpal N, Rojiani AM, Kolhe R. Infection and Immune Memory: Variables in Robust Protection by Vaccines Against SARS-CoV-2. Front Immunol 2021; 12:660019. [PMID: 34046033 PMCID: PMC8144450 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.660019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of a recent pandemic that has led to more than 3 million deaths worldwide. Most individuals are asymptomatic or display mild symptoms, which raises an inherent question as to how does the immune response differs from patients manifesting severe disease? During the initial phase of infection, dysregulated effector immune cells such as neutrophils, macrophages, monocytes, megakaryocytes, basophils, eosinophils, erythroid progenitor cells, and Th17 cells can alter the trajectory of an infected patient to severe disease. On the other hand, properly functioning CD4+, CD8+ cells, NK cells, and DCs reduce the disease severity. Detailed understanding of the immune response of convalescent individuals transitioning from the effector phase to the immunogenic memory phase can provide vital clues to understanding essential variables to assess vaccine-induced protection. Although neutralizing antibodies can wane over time, long-lasting B and T memory cells can persist in recovered individuals. The natural immunological memory captures the diverse repertoire of SARS-CoV-2 epitopes after natural infection whereas, currently approved vaccines are based on a single epitope, spike protein. It is essential to understand the nature of the immune response to natural infection to better identify 'correlates of protection' against this disease. This article discusses recent findings regarding immune response against natural infection to SARS-CoV-2 and the nature of immunogenic memory. More precise knowledge of the acute phase of immune response and its transition to immunological memory will contribute to the future design of vaccines and the identification of variables essential to maintain immune protection across diverse populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pankaj Ahluwalia
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Kumar Vaibhav
- Department of Neurosurgery, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | | | - Ashis K. Mondal
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Nikhil Sahajpal
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Amyn M. Rojiani
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Ravindra Kolhe
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
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14
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Lineburg KE, Grant EJ, Swaminathan S, Chatzileontiadou DSM, Szeto C, Sloane H, Panikkar A, Raju J, Crooks P, Rehan S, Nguyen AT, Lekieffre L, Neller MA, Tong ZWM, Jayasinghe D, Chew KY, Lobos CA, Halim H, Burrows JM, Riboldi-Tunnicliffe A, Chen W, D'Orsogna L, Khanna R, Short KR, Smith C, Gras S. CD8 + T cells specific for an immunodominant SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid epitope cross-react with selective seasonal coronaviruses. Immunity 2021; 54:1055-1065.e5. [PMID: 33945786 PMCID: PMC8043652 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Efforts are being made worldwide to understand the immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including the impact of T cell immunity and cross-recognition with seasonal coronaviruses. Screening of SARS-CoV-2 peptide pools revealed that the nucleocapsid (N) protein induced an immunodominant response in HLA-B7+ COVID-19-recovered individuals that was also detectable in unexposed donors. A single N-encoded epitope that was highly conserved across circulating coronaviruses drove this immunodominant response. In vitro peptide stimulation and crystal structure analyses revealed T cell-mediated cross-reactivity toward circulating OC43 and HKU-1 betacoronaviruses but not 229E or NL63 alphacoronaviruses because of different peptide conformations. T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing indicated that cross-reactivity was driven by private TCR repertoires with a bias for TRBV27 and a long CDR3β loop. Our findings demonstrate the basis of selective T cell cross-reactivity for an immunodominant SARS-CoV-2 epitope and its homologs from seasonal coronaviruses, suggesting long-lasting protective immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie E Lineburg
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Emma J Grant
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Srividhya Swaminathan
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Demetra S M Chatzileontiadou
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Christopher Szeto
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Hannah Sloane
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Archana Panikkar
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Jyothy Raju
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Pauline Crooks
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Sweera Rehan
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Andrea T Nguyen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Lea Lekieffre
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Michelle A Neller
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Zhen Wei Marcus Tong
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Dhilshan Jayasinghe
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Keng Yih Chew
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Christian A Lobos
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Hanim Halim
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Jacqueline M Burrows
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | | | - Weisan Chen
- Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Lloyd D'Orsogna
- Department of Clinical Immunology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia; School of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Rajiv Khanna
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Kirsty R Short
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Corey Smith
- QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development and Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory, Department of Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
| | - Stephanie Gras
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia.
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15
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Barrios Y, Franco A, Sanchez-Machin I, Poza-Guedes P, Gonzalez-Perez R, Matheu V. A novel application of delayed-type hipersensitivity reaction to measure cellular immune response in SARS-CoV-2 exposed individuals. Clin Immunol 2021; 226:108730. [PMID: 33865990 PMCID: PMC8049849 DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2021.108730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To understand the anti-virus adaptive immune response occurring during SARS-Cov-2 infection is necessary to have methods to investigate cellular and humoral components. The goal of this study has been to investigate the utility of a specific spike-DTH test using a coronavirus recombinant protein in COVID-19 patients. METHODS DTH studies were performed by intradermal injection of a commercial recombinant spike protein from SARS-CoV-2 along with conventional serology studies. RESULTS Fifty-one COVID-19 patients were studied showing 84,3% of concordance with spike-DTH and anti-RBD-IgG. Spike-DTH was superior to identify seven more COVID-19 individuals. A high specificity was found with no positive spike DTH reactions in the non-sick individuals. The skin test also showed more stable results over time while specific anti-RBD-IgG decreased gradually. Clinical severity groups also showed a progressive gradient of larger positive spike-DTH. CONCLUSION Specific spike DTH test seems to be an easy method to study cell immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvelise Barrios
- Immunology Lab, Central Lab, Floor - 1, Main Building, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Ctra Ofra s/n. La Cuesta, 38320 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Andres Franco
- Immunology Lab, Central Lab, Floor - 1, Main Building, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Ctra Ofra s/n. La Cuesta, 38320 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Inmaculada Sanchez-Machin
- Allergy Service, Floor-2, Outpatient Building, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Ctra Ofra s/n. La Cuesta, 38320 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Paloma Poza-Guedes
- Allergy Service, Floor-2, Outpatient Building, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Ctra Ofra s/n. La Cuesta, 38320 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Ruperto Gonzalez-Perez
- Allergy Service, Floor-2, Outpatient Building, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Ctra Ofra s/n. La Cuesta, 38320 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Victor Matheu
- Allergy Service, Floor-2, Outpatient Building, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Ctra Ofra s/n. La Cuesta, 38320 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain,Corresponding author
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16
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Li G, Xu M, Yue T, Gu W, Tan L. Life-long passion for antiviral research and drug development: 80th birthday of Prof. Dr. Erik De Clercq. Biochem Pharmacol 2021; 185:114485. [PMID: 33617841 PMCID: PMC7895689 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2021.114485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Since the 1950s, great efforts have been made to develop antiviral agents against many infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), and varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Among the list of nearly 106 antiviral agents approved in the past five decades, Prof. Erik De Clercq has contributed to the development of 7 antiviral drugs: tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Viread®) for HIV and HBV treatment, tenofovir alafenamide (Vemlidy®) for HIV and HBV treatment, brivudine (Zostex®) for HSV-1 and VZV treatment, valacyclovir (Valtrex®) for HSV and VZV treatment, adefovir dipivoxil (Hepsera®) for HBV treatment, stavudine (Zerit®) for HIV treatment, and cidofovir (Vistide®) for treating HCMV retinitis in AIDS patients. In addition to the above antiviral drugs, his contributions include two anti-cancer drugs: rabacfosadine (Tanovea®-CA1) for canine lymphoma and plerixafor (Mozobil®) for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. These achievements are driven by his life-long passions for antiviral research and successful collaborations worldwide. To honor the 80th birthday of Prof. Erik De Clercq, this study highlights his scientific achievements and the importance of life-long passions and collaborations in the success of antiviral research and drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangdi Li
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, China; Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China
| | - Ming Xu
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China
| | - Tingting Yue
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China
| | - Weijie Gu
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Li Tan
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, China.
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17
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Hartley GE, Edwards ESJ, Aui PM, Varese N, Stojanovic S, McMahon J, Peleg AY, Boo I, Drummer HE, Hogarth PM, O'Hehir RE, van Zelm MC. Rapid generation of durable B cell memory to SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins in COVID-19 and convalescence. Sci Immunol 2021; 5:5/54/eabf8891. [PMID: 33443036 PMCID: PMC7877496 DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abf8891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 202] [Impact Index Per Article: 67.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Lasting immunity following SARS-CoV-2 infection is questioned because serum antibodies decline in convalescence. However, functional immunity is mediated by long-lived memory T and B (Bmem) cells. Therefore, we generated fluorescently-labeled tetramers of the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) and nucleocapsid protein (NCP) to determine the longevity and immunophenotype of SARS-CoV-2-specific Bmem cells in COVID-19 patients. A total of 36 blood samples were obtained from 25 COVID-19 patients between 4 and 242 days post-symptom onset including 11 paired samples. While serum IgG to RBD and NCP was identified in all patients, antibody levels began declining at 20 days post-symptom onset. RBD- and NCP-specific Bmem cells predominantly expressed IgM+ or IgG1+ and continued to rise until 150 days. RBD-specific IgG+ Bmem were predominantly CD27+, and numbers significantly correlated with circulating follicular helper T cell numbers. Thus, the SARS-CoV-2 antibody response contracts in convalescence with persistence of RBD- and NCP-specific Bmem cells. Flow cytometric detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific Bmem cells enables detection of long-term immune memory following infection or vaccination for COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma E Hartley
- Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Emily S J Edwards
- Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Pei M Aui
- Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Nirupama Varese
- Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Allergy, Immunology & Respiratory Medicine, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Stephanie Stojanovic
- Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - James McMahon
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The Alfred and Central Clinical school, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Infectious Diseases, Monash Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Anton Y Peleg
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The Alfred and Central Clinical school, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Infection and Immunity Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Irene Boo
- Viral Entry and Vaccines Group, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Heidi E Drummer
- Viral Entry and Vaccines Group, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - P Mark Hogarth
- Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Immune Therapies Group, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Pathology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Robyn E O'Hehir
- Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Allergy, Immunology & Respiratory Medicine, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Menno C van Zelm
- Department of Immunology and Pathology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. .,Department of Allergy, Immunology & Respiratory Medicine, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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