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Review
. 2021 Feb 23;2(1):iqab006.
doi: 10.1093/oxfimm/iqab006. eCollection 2021.

The T-cell response to SARS-CoV-2: kinetic and quantitative aspects and the case for their protective role

Antonio Bertoletti  1   2 , Anthony T Tan  1 , Nina Le Bert  1
Affiliations
Review

The T-cell response to SARS-CoV-2: kinetic and quantitative aspects and the case for their protective role

Antonio Bertoletti et al. Oxf Open Immunol. .

Abstract

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19), triggers an adaptive immunity in the infected host that results in the production of virus-specific antibodies and T cells. Although kinetic and quantitative aspects of antibodies have been analyzed in large patient cohorts, similar information about SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells are scarce. We summarize the available knowledge of quantitative and temporal features of the SARS-CoV-2 T-cell response in this review. Currently, most of the data are derived only from the analysis of the circulatory compartment. Despite this limitation, early appearance, multi-specificity and functionality of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells are associated with accelerated viral clearance and with protection from severe COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; T cells; virus-specific T cells.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell and antibody response in COVID-19 patients with mild and severe disease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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