2020/09/16 by Carolyn Rydyznski Moderbacher, Sydney I. Ramirez, Jennifer M. Dan +21 · 1 voice · 5 citations
Medicine · #COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies #Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 #SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
paper · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2020.09.038
openalex publication_date 2020/09/16 · openalex created_date 2020/09/21 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Limited knowledge is available on the relationship between antigen-specific immune responses and COVID-19 disease severity. We completed a combined examination of all three branches of adaptive immunity at the level of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 + and CD8 + T cell and neutralizing antibody responses in acute and convalescent subjects. SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 + and CD8 + T cells were each associated with milder disease. Coordinated SARS-CoV-2-specific adaptive immune responses were associated with milder disease, suggesting roles for both CD4 + and CD8 + T cells in protective immunity in COVID-19. Notably, coordination of SARS-CoV-2 antigen-specific responses was disrupted in individuals ≥ 65 years old. Scarcity of naive T cells was also associated with aging and poor disease outcomes. A parsimonious explanation is that coordinated CD4 + T cell, CD8 + T cell, and antibody responses are protective, but uncoordinated responses frequently fail to control disease, with a connection between aging and impaired adaptive immune responses to SARS-CoV-2.