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Review
. 2017 Dec;60(12):1307-1316.
doi: 10.1007/s11427-017-9241-3. Epub 2017 Nov 29.

Human T-cell immunity against the emerging and re-emerging viruses

Min Zhao  1 , Hangjie Zhang  2 , Kefang Liu  2 , George F Gao  1   2   3 , William J Liu  4
Affiliations
Review

Human T-cell immunity against the emerging and re-emerging viruses

Min Zhao et al. Sci China Life Sci. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Over the past decade, we have seen an alarming number of high-profile outbreaks of newly emerging and re-emerging viruses. Recent outbreaks of avian influenza viruses, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronaviruses, Zika virus and Ebola virus present great threats to global health. Considering the pivotal role of host T-cell immunity in the alleviation of symptoms and the clearance of viruses in patients, there are three issues to be primarily concerned about T-cell immunity when a new virus emerges: first, does the population possess pre-existing T-cells against the new virus through previous infections of genetically relevant viruses; second, does a proper immune response arise in the patients to provide protection through an immunopathogenic effect; lastly, how long can the virus-specific immune memory persist. Herein, we summarize the current updates on the characteristics of human T-cell immunological responses against recently emerged or re-emerged viruses, and emphasize the necessity for timely investigation on the T-cell features of these viral diseases, which may provide beneficial recommendations for clinical diagnosis and vaccine development.

Keywords: Ebola; H7N9; MERS-CoV; T-cell; Zika; avian influenza; cross-reactivity; emerging viruses; human immunity.

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