Therapeutic expansion of protective effector and memory T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2

Abstract: "T cells destroy virus-infected host cells and regulate the production of virus-neutralizing antibodies to prevent the virus from entering the cell and multiplying. To instruct T cells viral components must be presented by MHC molecules alongside costimulatory molecules on antigen-presenting cells. MHC molecules show a high degree of variation across the population and the distribution of these variants (allotypes) vary significantly between individuals and ethnicities. Thus, T cell responses are significantly tailored by the combination of an MHC allotype and the presented viral peptide. Recombinantly expressed MHC allotypes will be loaded with in silico predicted and verified viral peptides. Using these sets together with newly discovered costimulatory molecules for T cells will enable us to expand and visualize specific T-cell responses of small subpopulations. The novel approach will be used to characterize the T-cell responses of recovered SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals to determine their effector and memory response which mediated protection/cure. Results will be compared to T-cell responses of COVID-19 patients in the first phase of the disease for prediction of disease outcome. In perspective, the novel approach can also be utilized to expand and manipulate SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses as cellular therapy for COVID-19 patients. Our results will provide novel insights into the mechanisms of cellular adaptive immune responses against the still largely unknown SARS-CoV-2 virus, which could form a basis for diagnosis and future therapy of this infection."; Research Type: discovery; Study population: not applicable