Thread by @bertoletti_lab

Our paper about #SARSCoV2-specific #tcell immunity in cases of #COVID19 and #SARS, and uninfected controls is now out, peer-reviewed and published in @nature! nature.com/articles/s4158…

3 take-home messages:
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1) Infection with #SARSCoV2 induces virus-specific T cells

2) Patients recovered from #SARS 17 years ago still possess virus-specific memory T cells displaying cross-reactivity to #SARSCoV2
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3) Over 50% of donors with no infection or contact with SARSCoV1/2 harbor expandable T cells cross-reactive to #SARSCoV2 likely induced by contact or infection with other #coronavirus strains
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They key question: Do these T cells protect from severe #COVID19 ?
The short answer: We don’t know yet…however, indications that pre-existing cross-reactive T cells can be beneficial were reported for influenza H1N1…let’s study if this is also the case for #COVID-19.
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We find #SARS-specific T cells 17 years post infection - potentially really good news for long-term immunity and #vaccine development.
Fantastic team work, big thanks to all our co-authors @dukenus @NUSingapore @NUSMedicine @SingHealthSG @astar_research
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