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SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell memory is long-lasting in the majority of convalsecent COVID-19 individuals

Ziwei Li, Jing Liu, Hui Deng, Xuecheng Yang, Hua Wang, Xuemei Feng, Gennadiy Zelinskyy, Mirko Trilling, Kathrin Sutter, Mengji Lu, Ulf Dittmer, Baoju Wang, Dongliang Yang, Xin Zheng, Jia Liu
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.15.383463
Ziwei Li
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Jing Liu
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Hui Deng
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Xuecheng Yang
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Hua Wang
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Xuemei Feng
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Gennadiy Zelinskyy
2Institute for Virology, University Hospital of Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen 45147, Germany
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Mirko Trilling
2Institute for Virology, University Hospital of Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen 45147, Germany
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Kathrin Sutter
2Institute for Virology, University Hospital of Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen 45147, Germany
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Mengji Lu
2Institute for Virology, University Hospital of Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen 45147, Germany
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Ulf Dittmer
2Institute for Virology, University Hospital of Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen 45147, Germany
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Baoju Wang
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Dongliang Yang
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Xin Zheng
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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Jia Liu
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3Joint International Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
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  • For correspondence: jialiu77@hust.edu.cn
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ABSTRACT

An unaddressed key question in the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the duration of immunity for which specific T cell responses against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are an indispensable element. Being situated in Wuhan where the pandemic initiated enables us to conduct the longest analyses of memory T cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 convalescent individuals (CIs). Magnitude and breadth of SARS-CoV-2 memory CD4 and CD8 T cell responses were heterogeneous between patients but robust responses could be detected up to 9 months post disease onset in most CIs. Loss of memory CD4 and CD8 T cell responses were observed in only 16.13% and 25.81% of CIs, respectively. Thus, the overall magnitude and breadth of memory CD4 and CD8 T cell responses were quite stable and not inversely correlated with the time from disease onset. Interestingly, the only significant decrease in the response was found for memory CD4 T cells in the first 6-month post COVID-19 disease onset. Longitudinal analyses revealed that the kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 memory CD4 and CD8 T cell responses were quite heterogenous between patients. Loss of memory CD4 T cell responses was observed more frequently in asymptomatic cases than after symptomatic COVID-19. Interestingly, the few CIs in which SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG responses disappeared showed more durable memory CD4 T cell responses than CIs who remained IgG-positive for month. Collectively, we provide the first comprehensive characterization of the long-term memory T cell response in CIs, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity is long-lasting in the majority of individuals.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted November 16, 2020.
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SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell memory is long-lasting in the majority of convalsecent COVID-19 individuals
Ziwei Li, Jing Liu, Hui Deng, Xuecheng Yang, Hua Wang, Xuemei Feng, Gennadiy Zelinskyy, Mirko Trilling, Kathrin Sutter, Mengji Lu, Ulf Dittmer, Baoju Wang, Dongliang Yang, Xin Zheng, Jia Liu
bioRxiv 2020.11.15.383463; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.15.383463
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SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell memory is long-lasting in the majority of convalsecent COVID-19 individuals
Ziwei Li, Jing Liu, Hui Deng, Xuecheng Yang, Hua Wang, Xuemei Feng, Gennadiy Zelinskyy, Mirko Trilling, Kathrin Sutter, Mengji Lu, Ulf Dittmer, Baoju Wang, Dongliang Yang, Xin Zheng, Jia Liu
bioRxiv 2020.11.15.383463; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.15.383463

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