SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cell longevity correlates with Th17-like phenotype
Kazutaka Terahara, Takashi Sato, Yu Adachi, Keisuke Tonouchi, Taishi Onodera, Saya Moriyama, Lin Sun, Tomohiro Takano, Ayae Nishiyama, Ai Kawana‐Tachikawa, Tetsuro Matano, Takayuki Matsumura, Masaharu Shinkai, Masanori Isogawa, Yoshimasa Takahashi
Abstract
Determinants of memory T cell longevity following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection remain unknown. In addition, phenotypes associated with memory T cell longevity, antibody titers, and disease severity are incompletely understood. Here, we longitudinally analyzed SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell and antibody responses of a unique cohort with similar numbers of mild, moderate, and severe coronavirus disease 2019 cases. The half-lives of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were longer than those of antibody titers and showed no clear correlation with disease severity. When CD4+ T cells were divided into Th1-, Th2-, Th17-, and Tfh-like subsets, the Th17-like subset showed a longer half-life than other subsets, indicating that Th17-like cells are most closely correlated with T cell longevity. In contrast, Th2- and Tfh-like T cells were more closely correlated with antibody titers than other subsets. These results suggest that distinct CD4+ T cell subsets are associated with longevity and antibody responses.