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Durable CD8 T Cell Memory against SARS-CoV-2 by Prime/Boost and Multi-Dose Vaccination: Considerations on Inter-Dose Time Intervals

Journal

Publisher

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijms232214367

Keywords

immunological memory; vaccination; COVID-19; CD8 T cells

Funding

  1. Ministero dell'Universita e delle Ricerca (MIUR) [CTN01_00177_962865]
  2. MIUR PRIN grant [2017K55HLC_006]
  3. MUR INF-ACT grant [PNRR PE13]
  4. CNR STM 2021
  5. Francis Crick Institute - Cancer Research UK (CRUK)
  6. UK Medical Research Council
  7. Wellcome Trust [FC001003]

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Anti-SARS-CoV-2 memory CD8 T cells induced by vaccination play an important role in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccination with two or more doses can promote the differentiation of memory CD8 T cells, and the length of inter-dose intervals may influence the magnitude and persistence of CD8 T cell memory.
Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were developed at unprecedented pace, productively exploiting contemporary fundamental research and prior art. Large-scale use of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines has greatly limited severe morbidity and mortality. Protection has been correlated with high serum titres of neutralizing antibodies capable of blocking the interaction between the viral surface protein spike and the host SARS-CoV-2 receptor, ACE-2. Yet, vaccine-induced protection subsides over time, and breakthrough infections are commonly observed, mostly reflecting the decay of neutralizing antibodies and the emergence of variant viruses with mutant spike proteins. Memory CD8 T cells are a potent weapon against viruses, as they are against tumour cells. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 memory CD8 T cells are induced by either natural infection or vaccination and can be potentially exploited against spike-mutated viruses. We offer here an overview of current research about the induction of anti-SARS-CoV-2 memory CD8 T cells by vaccination, in the context of prior knowledge on vaccines and on fundamental mechanisms of immunological memory. We focus particularly on how vaccination by two doses (prime/boost) or more (boosters) promotes differentiation of memory CD8 T cells, and on how the time-length of inter-dose intervals may influence the magnitude and persistence of CD8 T cell memory.

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