Science Immunology: How to maintain long-term memory of new coronavirus infection

After being infected with SARS-CoV-2, where does the immune system store memories that provide long-term protection against re-infection?

Although there are many studies that track the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 by testing blood, a new study on COVID-19 survivors shows that the memory of infection is mainly stored in T cells and B cells in the lungs and around the lungs In the lymph nodes

The research was led by Dr.

It is important to determine the source of immune memory for SARS-CoV-2 infection, as this may lead to improved vaccines or enhancers

The collaborators of this study, including Dr.

This is the first direct evidence of the establishment and persistence of such centers after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Even older people have strong immune memories

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 provides a unique opportunity for immunologists to study how the elderly respond to new pathogens

The new study examined the organization of four COVID-19 survivors, who were between 11 and 74 years old and later died of unrelated causes

These samples are part of a unique resource developed by Farber Laboratories over the past 10 years to study immune processes in human tissues, not blood

After the age of 40, the immune system no longer produces many new T cells.

But studies have found that even the elderly can build a strong immune memory against new pathogens

"We know that the immune system declines with age," Farber said.

These new discoveries are of great significance to the design and management of vaccines to promote the type and location of immune memory produced by natural infections

Farber said: "Our research shows that in order to improve the protection of the virus, the vaccine should target the memory immune cells in the lungs and their associated lymph nodes.

Researchers are currently observing the tissues of vaccinated donors to determine whether the memory induced by the vaccine is similar to the memory induced by natural infection

 references:

"SARS-CoV-2 infection generates tissue-localized immunological memory in humans.

DOI

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