Ancestral SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells cross-recognize the Omicron variant

Gao, Yu, Cai, Curtis, Grifoni, Alba, Müller, Thomas R., Niessl, Julia, Olofsson, Anna, Humbert, Marion, Hansson, Lotta, Österborg, Anders, Bergman, Peter, Chen, Puran, Olsson, Annika, Sandberg, Johan K., Weiskopf, Daniela, Price, David A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9416-2737, Ljunggren, Hans-Gustaf, Karlsson, Annika C., Sette, Alessandro, Aleman, Soo and Buggert, Marcus 2022. Ancestral SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells cross-recognize the Omicron variant. Nature Medicine 28 (3) , pp. 472-476. 10.1038/s41591-022-01700-x

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Abstract

The emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of concern (VOC) has destabilized global efforts to control the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Recent data have suggested that B.1.1.529 can readily infect people with naturally acquired or vaccine-induced immunity, facilitated in some cases by viral escape from antibodies that neutralize ancestral SARS-CoV-2. However, severe disease appears to be relatively uncommon in such individuals, highlighting a potential role for other components of the adaptive immune system. We report here that SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells induced by prior infection or BNT162b2 vaccination provide extensive immune coverage against B.1.1.529. The median relative frequencies of SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific CD4+ T cells that cross-recognized B.1.1.529 in previously infected or BNT162b2-vaccinated individuals were 84% and 91%, respectively, and the corresponding median relative frequencies for SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific CD8+ T cells were 70% and 92%, respectively. Pairwise comparisons across groups further revealed that SARS-CoV-2 spike-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were functionally and phenotypically similar in response to the ancestral strain or B.1.1.529. Collectively, our data indicate that established SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, especially after BNT162b2 vaccination, remain largely intact against B.1.1.529.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Additional Information:	This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher:	Nature Research
ISSN:	1078-8956
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 April 2022
Date of Acceptance:	14 January 2022
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 11:01
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/149100

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