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T-cell responses in COVID-19 survivors six to eight months after infection: a longitudinal cohort study in Pune
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  • POONAM SURYAWANSHI,
  • Bhagyashri Patil-Takbhate,
  • Prachi Athavale,
  • Shubhangi Kanitkar,
  • Sachin Kisan Shivnitwar,
  • M. S. Barthwal,
  • Sachinkumar Dole,
  • Hanumant Chavan,
  • Priyanka Jali,
  • Sujata Pawale,
  • Dhanashree Kakad,
  • Arjun Kakrani,
  • Jitendra Bhawalkar,
  • Madhura Ajitkumar Gandhi,
  • Sarika Chaturvedi,
  • Mahesh Karandikar,
  • Srikant Tripathy
POONAM SURYAWANSHI
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Bhagyashri Patil-Takbhate
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Prachi Athavale
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Shubhangi Kanitkar
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Sachin Kisan Shivnitwar
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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M. S. Barthwal
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Sachinkumar Dole
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Hanumant Chavan
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Priyanka Jali
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Sujata Pawale
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Dhanashree Kakad
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Arjun Kakrani
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Jitendra Bhawalkar
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Madhura Ajitkumar Gandhi
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Sarika Chaturvedi
Dr D Y Patil Vidyapeeth
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Mahesh Karandikar
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
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Srikant Tripathy
Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 immune response is crucial for disease management, although diminishing immunity raises the possibility of reinfection. In matched samples collected at one month and six to eight months after infection, we examined the immunological response to SARS-CoV-2 in a group of convalescent critically ill COVID-19 patients. The PBMCs were isolated from enrolled study participants and flow cytometry analysis was done to assess the lymphocyte subsets of naive, effector, central memory, and effector memory CD4+ or CD8+ T cells in COVID-19 patients at one month and six to eight months after infection. Immunophenotypic characterization of immune cell subsets was performed on individuals who were followed longitudinally for one month (n=44) and up to 6-8 months (n=25) after recovery from COVID infection. We observed that CD4+ T cells in hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients tended to decrease, whereas CD8+ T cells steadily recovered after one month, while there was a sustained increase in the population of effector T cells and effector memory T cells. Furthermore, COVID-19 patients showed persistently low B cells and a small increase in the NK cell population. In conclusion, our findings show that T cell responses were maintained at 6-8 months after infection. This opens new pathways for further research into the long-term effects in COVID-19 immunopathogenesis.
27 Oct 2023Submitted to Immunity, Inflammation and Disease
29 Oct 2023Submission Checks Completed
29 Oct 2023Assigned to Editor
29 Oct 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
31 Oct 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
26 Feb 20241st Revision Received
28 Feb 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending