Journal
NATURE REVIEWS IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 22, Issue 6, Pages 387-397Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41577-022-00716-1
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Funding
- Australian NHMRC programme [1149990]
- Australian MRFF award [2005544]
- MRFF award [2007221]
- US NIH [AI105343, AI082630, AI108545, AI155577, AI149680]
- NHMRC fellowships
- National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia [1149990] Funding Source: NHMRC
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Understanding the role of T cells in SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for the design of next-generation vaccines. This perspective discusses the challenges in determining the causal relationship between vaccine-induced T cell immunity and protection from COVID-19, and proposes an approach to gather evidence and clarify the role of vaccine-induced T cell memory in protecting against severe COVID-19.
Understanding of the role of T cells in SARS-CoV-2 infection is of great importance for the design of next-generation vaccines. In this Perspective, Davenport and colleagues discuss the challenges in determining a causal relationship between vaccine-induced T cell immunity and protection from COVID-19. The rapid development of multiple vaccines providing strong protection from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been a major achievement. There is now compelling evidence for the role of neutralizing antibodies in protective immunity. T cells may play a role in resolution of primary SARS-CoV-2 infection, and there is a widely expressed view that T cell-mediated immunity also plays an important role in vaccine-mediated protection. Here we discuss the role of vaccine-induced T cells in two distinct stages of infection: firstly, in protection from acquisition of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection following exposure; secondly, if infection does occur, the potential for T cells to reduce the risk of developing severe COVID-19. We describe several lines of evidence that argue against a direct impact of vaccine-induced memory T cells in preventing symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the contribution of T cell immunity in reducing the severity of infection, particularly in infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants, remains to be determined. A detailed understanding of the role of T cells in COVID-19 is critical for next-generation vaccine design and development. Here we discuss the challenges in determining a causal relationship between vaccine-induced T cell immunity and protection from COVID-19 and propose an approach to gather the necessary evidence to clarify any role for vaccine-induced T cell memory in protection from severe COVID-19.
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