Department of Blood Transfusion, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Department of Pathology and Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China.
Front Immunol. 2021 Sep 16;12:731100. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.731100. eCollection 2021.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a serious infectious disease that has led to a global pandemic with high morbidity and mortality. High-affinity neutralizing antibody is important for controlling infection, which is closely regulated by follicular helper T (Tfh) cells. Tfh cells play a central role in promoting germinal center reactions and driving cognate B cell differentiation for antibody secretion. Available studies indicate a close relationship between virus-specific Tfh cell-mediated immunity and SARS-CoV-2 infection progression. Although several lines of evidence have suggested that Tfh cells contribute to the control of SARS-CoV-2 infection by eliciting neutralizing antibody productions, further studies are needed to elucidate Tfh-mediated effector mechanisms in anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity. Here, we summarize the functional features and roles of virus-specific Tfh cells in the immunopathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and in COVID-19 vaccines, and highlight the potential of targeting Tfh cells as therapeutic strategy against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
新型严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）引起的 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是一种严重的传染病，导致高发病率和死亡率的全球大流行。高亲和力中和抗体对于控制感染很重要，而感染则由滤泡辅助 T（Tfh）细胞密切调节。Tfh 细胞在促进生发中心反应和驱动同源 B 细胞分化以产生抗体分泌方面发挥核心作用。现有研究表明，病毒特异性 Tfh 细胞介导的免疫与 SARS-CoV-2 感染进展密切相关。尽管有几条证据表明 Tfh 细胞通过引发中和抗体产生来有助于控制 SARS-CoV-2 感染，但仍需要进一步研究来阐明 Tfh 介导的抗 SARS-CoV-2 免疫效应机制。在这里，我们总结了病毒特异性 Tfh 细胞在 SARS-CoV-2 感染的免疫发病机制和 COVID-19 疫苗中的功能特征和作用，并强调了靶向 Tfh 细胞作为对抗 SARS-CoV-2 感染的治疗策略的潜力。
