Clinical and immunological characteristics in COVID-19 convalescent patients

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2021 Dec;40(12):2669-2676. doi: 10.1007/s10096-021-04360-w. Epub 2021 Oct 9.

Abstract

The humoral and cellular immunity of convalescent COVID-19 patients is involved in pathogenesis and vaccine immunity. In this study, through CoV-psV neutralization assay and IFN-γ ELISpot testing in 30 cases of COVID-19 patients after 9 months post-SARS-CoV-2 infection, it found that the ratio of memory/naive CD4+ T lymphocytes cells and levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2-IgM and RBD-IgM were slightly but significantly higher in COVID-19 severe convalescent patients than that in non-severe patients. The specific cellular and humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 were detectable, regardless of the severity of the disease in the acute phase. This information may help understanding the immune status after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Keywords: Humoral immunity; Neutralizing antibodies; SARS-CoV-2; Virus-specific T cells.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • COVID-19 / blood
  • COVID-19 / immunology*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Cellular
  • Immunity, Humoral
  • Immunoglobulin M / blood
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • SARS-CoV-2 / genetics
  • SARS-CoV-2 / immunology*
  • SARS-CoV-2 / physiology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Immunoglobulin M