Selective and cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes in unexposed humans

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Preexisting immune response to SARS-CoV-2

Robust T cell responses to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus occur in most individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several studies have reported that some people who have not been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 have preexisting reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 sequences. The immunological mechanisms underlying this preexisting reactivity are not clear, but previous exposure to widely circulating common cold coronaviruses might be involved. Mateus et al. found that the preexisting reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 comes from memory T cells and that cross-reactive T cells can specifically recognize a SARS-CoV-2 epitope as well as the homologous epitope from a common cold coronavirus. These findings underline the importance of determining the impacts of preexisting immune memory in COVID-19 disease severity.

Science, this issue p. 89

Abstract

Preexisting immunity against SARS-CoV-2 can be derived from coronaviruses that cause the common cold.

Abstract

Many unknowns exist about human immune responses to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. SARS-CoV-2–reactive CD4 ⁺ T cells have been reported in unexposed individuals, suggesting preexisting cross-reactive T cell memory in 20 to 50% of people. However, the source of those T cells has been speculative. Using human blood samples derived before the SARS-CoV-2 virus was discovered in 2019, we mapped 142 T cell epitopes across the SARS-CoV-2 genome to facilitate precise interrogation of the SARS-CoV-2–specific CD4 ⁺ T cell repertoire. We demonstrate a range of preexisting memory CD4 ⁺ T cells that are cross-reactive with comparable affinity to SARS-CoV-2 and the common cold coronaviruses human coronavirus (HCoV)-OC43, HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-HKU1. Thus, variegated T cell memory to coronaviruses that cause the common cold may underlie at least some of the extensive heterogeneity observed in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease.

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The three-dimensional structure of peptide-MHC complexes.

Thomas Madden (1994)

The ability of MHC molecules to present a broad spectrum of peptide antigens for T cell recognition requires a compromise between high affinity and broad specificity. Three-dimensional atomic structures of several class I and class II MHC molecules reveal a unique structural solution to this problem: Tight binding to the peptide main chain is supplemented by more or less restrictive interactions with peptide side chains. In spite of these contacts, peptide side-chain and conformational variability ensures that the resulting peptide-MHC complex presents an antigenically unique surface to T cell receptors. Extension of this understanding to other peptide-MHC complexes, including agonist/antagonist peptides and the identification of antigenic peptides within protein sequences, however, requires a detailed analysis of the interactions that determine both peptide-MHC binding affinity and the conformations of bound peptides. While many of these interactions can be modeled by homology with known structures, their specificity can depend sensitively on subtle and long-range structural effects. Structurally and immunologically important distinctions are also found between the class I and class II peptide-binding strategies. Taken together, these interactions ultimately determine the ability of an individual to respond successfully to immune challenges.

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A Cytokine-Independent Approach To Identify Antigen-Specific Human Germinal Center T Follicular Helper Cells and Rare Antigen-Specific CD4+ T Cells in Blood.

Jennifer M. Dan, Cecilia S Lindestam Arlehamn, Daniela Weiskopf … (2016)

Detection of Ag-specific CD4(+) T cells is central to the study of many human infectious diseases, vaccines, and autoimmune diseases. However, such cells are generally rare and heterogeneous in their cytokine profiles. Identification of Ag-specific germinal center (GC) T follicular helper (Tfh) cells by cytokine production has been particularly problematic. The function of a GC Tfh cell is to selectively help adjacent GC B cells via cognate interaction; thus, GC Tfh cells may be stingy cytokine producers, fundamentally different from Th1 or Th17 cells in the quantities of cytokines produced. Conventional identification of Ag-specific cells by intracellular cytokine staining relies on the ability of the CD4(+) T cell to generate substantial amounts of cytokine. To address this problem, we have developed a cytokine-independent activation-induced marker (AIM) methodology to identify Ag-specific GC Tfh cells in human lymphoid tissue. Whereas Group A Streptococcus-specific GC Tfh cells produced minimal detectable cytokines by intracellular cytokine staining, the AIM method identified 85-fold more Ag-specific GC Tfh cells. Intriguingly, these GC Tfh cells consistently expressed programmed death ligand 1 upon activation. AIM also detected non-Tfh cells in lymphoid tissue. As such, we applied AIM for identification of rare Ag-specific CD4(+) T cells in human peripheral blood. Dengue, tuberculosis, and pertussis vaccine-specific CD4(+) T cells were readily detectable by AIM. In summary, cytokine assays missed 98% of Ag-specific human GC Tfh cells, reflecting the biology of these cells, which could instead be sensitively identified by coexpression of TCR-dependent activation markers.

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Comparative analysis of activation induced marker (AIM) assays for sensitive identification of antigen-specific CD4 T cells

Samantha Reiss, Amy Baxter, Kimberly M. Cirelli … (2017)

The identification and study of antigen-specific CD4 T cells, both in peripheral blood and in tissues, is key for a broad range of immunological research, including vaccine responses and infectious diseases. Detection of these cells is hampered by both their rarity and their heterogeneity, in particular with regards to cytokine secretion profiles. These factors prevent the identification of the total pool of antigen-specific CD4 T cells by classical methods. We have developed assays for the highly sensitive detection of such cells by measuring the upregulation of surface activation induced markers (AIM). Here, we compare two such assays based on concurrent expression of CD69 plus CD40L (CD154) or expression of OX40 plus CD25, and we develop additional AIM assays based on OX40 plus PD-L1 or 4-1BB. We compare the relative sensitivity of these assays for detection of vaccine and natural infection-induced CD4 T cell responses and show that these assays identify distinct, but overlapping populations of antigen-specific CD4 T cells, a subpopulation of which can also be detected on the basis of cytokine synthesis. Bystander activation had minimal effect on AIM markers. However, some T regulatory cells upregulate CD25 upon antigen stimulation. We therefore validated AIM assays designed to exclude most T regulatory cells, for both human and non-human primate (NHP, Macaca mulatta) studies. Overall, through head-to-head comparisons and methodological improvements, we show that AIM assays represent a sensitive and valuable method for the detection of antigen-specific CD4 T cells.