Rapid detection of SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific memory T‐cell immunity in recovered COVID‐19 cases

Lineburg, Katie E; Srihari, Sriganesh; Altaf, Mohammed; Swaminathan, Srividhya; Panikkar, Archana; Raju, Jyothy; Crooks, Pauline; Ambalathingal, George R; Martins, Jose Paulo; Matthews, Katherine K; Neller, Michelle A; Khanna, Rajiv; Smith, Corey

OBJECTIVES: There is emerging evidence that SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific memory T‐cell responses are likely to provide critical long‐term protection against COVID‐19. Strategies to rapidly assess T‐cell responses are therefore likely to be important for assessing immunity in the global population. METHODS: Here, we have developed a rapid immune‐monitoring strategy to assess virus‐specific memory T‐cell responses in the peripheral blood of COVID‐19 convalescent individuals. We validated SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific memory T‐cell responses detected in whole blood using in vitro expansion with SARS‐CoV‐2 proteins. RESULTS: T‐cell immunity characterised by the production of IFN‐γ and IL‐2 could be consistently detected in the whole blood of recovered participants. T cells predominantly recognised structural SARS‐CoV‐2 proteins. In vitro expansion demonstrated that while CD8(+) T cells recognised nucleocapsid protein, spike protein and ORF3a, CD4(+) T cells more broadly targeted multiple SARS‐CoV‐2 proteins. CONCLUSION: These observations provide a timely monitoring approach for identifying SARS‐CoV‐2 cellular immunity and may serve as a diagnostic for the stratification of risk in immunocompromised and other at‐risk individuals.