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Weigl, N.* ; Pleimelding, C.* ; Gilberg, L.* ; Huynh, D.* ; Brand, I.* ; Bruger, J.* ; Frese, J.* ; Eser, T.M.* ; Ahmed, M.I.M.* ; Guggenbuehl-Noller, J.M.* ; Stirner, R.* ; Hoelscher, M.* ; Pritsch, M.* ; Geldmacher, C.* ; Kobold, S. ; Roider, J.*

Detectable SARS-CoV-2 specific immune responses in recovered unvaccinated individuals 250 days post wild type infection.

PLoS ONE 20:e0325923 (2025)
Verlagsversion Forschungsdaten DOI PMC
Open Access Gold
Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
Memory T cells play an important role in mediating long-lasting adaptive immune responses to viral infections, such as SARS-CoV-2. In the context of the latter, much of our current knowledge stems from studies in vaccinated individuals or repeatedly infected individuals. However, limited knowledge is available on these responses in fully naive individuals in German communities. We performed immunophenotyping of a previously naive SARS-CoV-2 cohort in convalescent individuals after asymptomatic to moderate COVID-19. The samples were collected median 250 days post infection during the first wave of the COVID pandemic in Germany (March - May 2020). In this cohort of 174 individuals, we phenotyped different leukocyte cell populations in peripheral blood (B, T and Natural Killer cells). We then assessed the serostatus against the SARS-CoV-2 antigens Nucleocapsid (N) and Spike subunit (S1) with its receptor binding domain (RBD), as these are important correlates of protection, by testing for presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. We also measured IgG antibody responses against the N antigen of the common cold coronaviruses HCoV-OC43, HCoV-HKU1, HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-229E, to determine possible cross-reactivity. In a subset of the cohort (n = 76), we performed intracellular staining assays (ICS) after stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV antigens. Key findings are significant differences in frequency of CD4+ memory T cell populations, notably CD4+ TEM and CD4+ TEMRA cells, between the group of SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals and the control group. These differences correlated with cytokine production (TNFα, IFNγ) after stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 peptides, indicating a specific T cell immune response. In conclusion, a clear memory T cell and humoral response can be detected up to 250 days post mild to moderate COVID-19 disease. Our results underline findings reported by others indicating a lasting cellular immune response even in a population which previously had not been exposed to SARS-CoV-2.
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Publikationstyp Artikel: Journalartikel
Dokumenttyp Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
Korrespondenzautor
Schlagwörter Coronavirus Infection; T-cells; Antibodies; Differentiation; Pathogenesis; Prevalence; Covid-19; Cd8(+)
ISSN (print) / ISBN 1932-6203
Zeitschrift PLoS ONE
Quellenangaben Band: 20, Heft: 6, Seiten: , Artikelnummer: e0325923 Supplement: ,
Verlag Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Verlagsort Lawrence, Kan.
Nichtpatentliteratur Publikationen
Begutachtungsstatus Peer reviewed
Institut(e) Unit for Clinical Pharmacology (KKG-EKLiP)
Förderungen European Research Council (ERC)
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network for tracking and controlling therapeutic immune cells in cancer (Horizon Programme of The EU)
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network for Optimizing Adoptive T Cell Therapy of Cancer (Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union)
Melanoma Research Alliance
Elite Network of Bavaria
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Bavarian Cancer Research Center (BZKF)
European Union
ORCHESTRA project
German Ministry for Education and Research (MoKoCo19)
Volkswagenstiftung
Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (SEPAN)
Munich Center of Health (McHealth)
University of Bielefeld
University of Bonn
Helmholtz Centre Munich
University Hospital of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
Else Kroner-Fresenius-Stiftung (IOLIN )
German Cancer Aid (AvantCAR.de)
Wilhelm-Sander-Stiftung

German Center for Infection Research (DZIF)
Monika-Kutzner Stiftung
Dr. Rurainski Foundation
Bruno and Helene Joster Foundation
Bavarian Research Foundation (BAYCELLATOR)
Hector Foundation
Deutsche Jose Carreras Leukaemie Stiftung
Fritz-Bender Foundation
European Research Council
Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung (GO-BIO)
Bavarian Ministry for Economical Affairs
Go-Bio-Initiative
Institutional Strategy LMUexcellent of LMU Munich
Ernst Jung Stiftung
Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts