γδ T Cells in Emerging Viral Infection: An Overview

New emerging viruses belonging to the Coronaviridae, Flaviviridae, and Filoviridae families are serious threats to public health and represent a global concern. The surveillance to monitor the emergence of new viruses and their transmission is an important target for public health authorities. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an excellent example of a pathogen able to cause a pandemic. In a few months, SARS-CoV-2 has spread globally from China, and it has become a world health problem. Gammadelta (gamma delta) T cell are sentinels of innate immunity and are able to protect the host from viral infections. They enrich many tissues, such as the skin, intestines, and lungs where they can sense and fight the microbes, thus contributing to the protective immune response. gamma delta T cells perform their direct antiviral activity by cytolytic and non-cytolytic mechanisms against a wide range of viruses, and they are able to orchestrate the cellular interplay between innate and acquired immunity. For their pleiotropic features, gamma delta T cells have been proposed as a target for immunotherapies in both cancer and viral infections. In this review, we analyzed the role of gamma delta T cells in emerging viral infections to define the profile of the response and to better depict their role in the host protection.

Automated summary

New emerging viruses pose serious threats to public health and are a global concern. Monitoring the emergence and transmission of these viruses is crucial for public health authorities. γδ T cells, as part of the innate immune system, play a vital role in protecting the host from viral infections. They have the ability to directly combat a wide range of viruses and orchestrate the interaction between innate and acquired immunity.