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T-Cell Responses

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Science & Technology
  • Published
    19th Aug, 2020
  • T cells (also called T lymphocytes) are one of the major components of the adaptive immune system.
  • Their roles include directly killing infected host cells, activating other immune cells, producing cytokines and regulating the immune response.
  • According to recent research natural exposure or infection with the novel coronavirus may “prevent recurrent episodes of severe COVID-19”.
  • The study found SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells even in family members who have been exposed to the virus but have tested negative on antibody blood tests.
  • All categories of people recovered from moderate or severe COVID-19 disease, or in the convalescent phase after mild or severe disease or exposed family members or healthy people exhibited “robust memory T cell responses months after infection, even in the absence of detectable circulating antibodies specific for SARS-CoV-2.
  • This indicates a previously unanticipated degree of population-level immunity against COVID-19.
  • This implies that seroprevalence (the level of a pathogen in a population, as measured in blood serum) as an indicator may underestimate the extent of immunity in the population.
  • Even as antibodies wane with time, robust T cell memory formed after SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests that “potent adaptive immunity is maintained to provide protection against severe re-infection”.

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