Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Tübingen, Calwerstraße 7, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Cell Biology, Department of Immunology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) "Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies", University of Tübingen, Röntgenweg 11, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Int J Infect Dis. 2022 Jul;120:187-195. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2022.04.019. Epub 2022 Apr 14.
Besides SARS-CoV-2-directed humoral immune responses, T cell responses are indispensable for effective antiviral immunity. Recent data have shown a correlation between COVID-19 symptoms and humoral immune response, but so far, little is known about the association of SARS-CoV-2-directed T cell responses and disease severity. Herein, we evaluated the prevalence of different clinical COVID-19 symptoms in relation to SARS-CoV-2-directed humoral and cellular immune responses.
The severity of eight different symptoms during acute infection were assessed using questionnaires from 193 convalescent individuals and were evaluated in relation to SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels and intensity of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses 2-8 weeks after positive polymerase chain reaction.
Although increased IgG serum levels could be associated with severity of most symptoms, no difference in T cell response intensity between different symptom severities was observed for the majority of COVID-19 symptoms. However, when analyzing loss of smell or taste and cough, awareness of more severe symptoms was associated with reduced T cell response intensities.
These data suggest that rapid virus clearance mediated by SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells prevents severe symptoms of COVID-19.
除了针对 SARS-CoV-2 的体液免疫反应外，T 细胞反应对于有效的抗病毒免疫也是必不可少的。最近的数据表明，COVID-19 症状与体液免疫反应之间存在相关性，但到目前为止，针对 SARS-CoV-2 的 T 细胞反应与疾病严重程度之间的关联知之甚少。在此，我们评估了不同临床 COVID-19 症状与 SARS-CoV-2 定向体液和细胞免疫反应之间的相关性。
通过问卷从 193 名恢复期个体中评估了急性感染期间 8 种不同症状的严重程度，并在聚合酶链反应阳性后 2-8 周评估 SARS-CoV-2 抗体水平和 SARS-CoV-2 特异性 T 细胞反应的强度与这些症状的严重程度的关系。
尽管 IgG 血清水平升高可能与大多数症状的严重程度相关，但对于大多数 COVID-19 症状，不同症状严重程度之间的 T 细胞反应强度无差异。然而，当分析嗅觉或味觉丧失和咳嗽时，对更严重症状的认识与 T 细胞反应强度降低相关。
这些数据表明，由 SARS-CoV-2 特异性 T 细胞介导的快速病毒清除可预防 COVID-19 的严重症状。
