Pharmaceutical Magazine – T / T Cells taken from the blood of patients recovering from the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) could help protect other susceptible patients from infection, according to a study published in the journal Blood.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused more than 1.1 million deaths and there are more than 42.7 million confirmed cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Among individuals who recovered from the virus, T-cells provided them with immunity from reinfection because the cells are now ready to fight it, according to the study authors. Understanding how these T-cells work has the potential to help in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The researchers examined previous phase 1 clinical trials that used virus-targeting T-cells “trained” to target viruses, such as the Epstein-Barr virus, to hypothesize that the same was true for COVID-19 T-cells, according to the study.
The study authors predict that T-cells could be infused into immunocompromised patients to help them build immunity to the virus.
The T-cells identified in this study were mostly grown from donor peripheral blood that was seropositive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
According to the study, T cells aimed at SARS-CoV-2 have adapted primarily to target specific portions of viral proteins found in cell membranes.
According to the researchers, this actually reveals a new way for the immune system to respond to COVID-19 infection.
“We found that many people who recover from COVID-19 have T-cells that recognize and target the SARS-CoV-2 viral protein, giving them immunity from the virus because the T-cells are ready to fight it,” said the study leader. Michael Keller, MD, pediatric immunology specialist at Children’s National Hospital, in a press release.
“This suggests that adopted immunotherapy using healing T-cells to target these viral regions may be an effective way of protecting vulnerable people, especially those with weakened immune systems due to cancer therapy or transplantation.” He continued.
The study is also relevant to the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the authors.
The ability of T-cells to target membrane proteins may open up other options for vaccine developers to consider when determining how to protect against viruses. In addition, treating susceptible patients with T-cells may provide a more viable option than a vaccine at all, because the underlying conditions can make the vaccine unsafe or ineffective for this group.
Source:
T-Cells from recovered COVID-19 patients show promise to protect vulnerable patients from infection [news release] October 26, 2020; Washington, DC. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-10/cnh-tfr102620.php.
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