RESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a continuous challenge worldwide, and there is an urgent need to map the landscape of immunogenic and immunodominant epitopes recognized by CD8+ T cells. Here, we analyze samples from 31 patients with COVID-19 for CD8+ T cell recognition of 500 peptide-HLA class I complexes, restricted by 10 common HLA alleles. We identify 18 CD8+ T cell recognized SARS-CoV-2 epitopes, including an epitope with immunodominant features derived from ORF1ab and restricted by HLA-A*01:01. In-depth characterization of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cell responses of patients with acute critical and severe disease reveals high expression of NKG2A, lack of cytokine production and a gene expression profile inhibiting T cell re-activation and migration while sustaining survival. SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cell responses are detectable up to 5 months after recovery from critical and severe disease, and these responses convert from dysfunctional effector to functional memory CD8+ T cells during convalescence.
Assuntos
Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , COVID-19/imunologia , Epitopos Imunodominantes/imunologia , SARS-CoV-2/imunologia , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Alelos , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/patologia , COVID-19/patologia , Epitopos de Linfócito T/imunologia , Feminino , Antígenos de Histocompatibilidade Classe I/genética , Antígenos de Histocompatibilidade Classe I/imunologia , Humanos , Epitopos Imunodominantes/química , Memória Imunológica , Ativação Linfocitária , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Poliproteínas/imunologia , Proteínas Virais/imunologiaRESUMO
Tumors with an impaired transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) present several endoplasmic reticulum-derived self-antigens on HLA class I (HLA-I) which are absent on healthy cells. Selection of such TAP-independent antigens for T cell-based immunotherapy should include analysis of their expression on healthy cells to prevent therapy-induced adverse toxicities. However, it is unknown how the absence of clinically relevant antigens on healthy cells needs to be validated. Here, we monitored TAP-independent antigen presentation on various healthy cells after establishing a T cell tool recognizing a TAP-independent signal sequence receptor 1-derived antigen. We found that most but not all healthy cells present this antigen under normal and inflammatory conditions, indicating that TAP-independent antigen presentation is a variable phenomenon. Our data emphasize the necessity of extensive testing of a wide variety of healthy cell types to define clinically relevant TAP-independent antigens that can be safely targeted by immunotherapy.
RESUMO
A single model system for integrative studies on multiple facets of antigen presentation is lacking. PAKC is a novel panel of ten cell lines knocked out for individual components of the HLA class I antigen presentation pathway. PAKC will accelerate HLA-I research in the fields of oncology, infectiology, and autoimmunity.