AI Article Synopsis
- CD4 T cells play a crucial role in defending against viruses like SARS-CoV-2, but their response to viral mutations isn't fully understood.
- Researchers isolated 159 CD4 T cell clones from healthcare workers infected with the original virus and identified 21 specific regions (epitopes) that these cells target in viral proteins.
- They found that many CD4 T cell responses are specific to the virus rather than other coronaviruses, and that mutations in spikes of new variants, especially Omicron, can weaken T cell recognition, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring of viral changes.
Article Abstract
CD4 T cells are essential for protection against viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. The sensitivity of CD4 T cells to mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) is poorly understood. Here, we isolated 159 SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 T cell clones from healthcare workers previously infected with wild-type SARS-CoV-2 (D614G) and defined 21 epitopes in spike, membrane and nucleoprotein. Lack of CD4 T cell cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV-2 and endemic beta-coronaviruses suggested these responses arose from naïve rather than pre-existing cross-reactive coronavirus-specific T cells. Of the 17 epitopes located in the spike protein, 10 were mutated in VOCs and CD4 T cell clone recognition of 7 of them was impaired, including 3 of the 4 epitopes mutated in omicron. Our results indicated that broad targeting of epitopes by CD4 T cells likely limits evasion by current VOCs. However, continued genomic surveillance is vital to identify new mutations able to evade CD4 T cell immunity.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41590-022-01351-7 | DOI Listing |
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