T cell test to provide a complete picture of the body's immune response to the COVID-19 virus.
In collaboration with researchers at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School have found a simple and quick method for measuring the immune response of T lymphocytes to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the source of COVID-19.
What exactly is a T cell, and what role does it play in our bodies fight against the COVID-19 virus?
T lymphocytes, also known as T cells, are a type of white blood cell that plays a critical role in the adaptive immune response. The letter “T” represents the Thymus, the organ in which their development is completed.
The SARS-CoV-2 immune response is largely dependent on antibodies and T cells, according to a growing body of evidence. This is a game-changer for scientists who wish to track and evaluate specific T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 in vaccinated and recovering people, as well as to test and validate the vaccine’s efficacy.
T cells, according to the researchers, play an important role in terms of safeguarding people from COVID-19 alongside antibodies, but they are more difficult to detect and measure. Their findings suggest an approach that is feasible for overcoming the existing limitations of detecting point-specific T cell responses, as well as for better understanding the role of T-cells in the immune system.
How did the T cell study in relation to the COVID-19 cure go?
For the study, the researchers administered blood tests to volunteers who had been infected and cured with COVID-19 or who were immune to COVID-19, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Small fragments of the SARS-CoV-2 point protein were then injected directly into the blood samples. T cells responded to these fragments by releasing chemical signals known as cytokines, which would be much easier to spot and assess than T cells, which are already used to track the activity o fT cell to diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis.
Researchers demonstrated the Cytokine Release Assay (CRA) on this basis, demonstrating that it can reliably quantify and identify specific T-cells people’s blood infected with SARS-CoV-2 or immunized against COVID-19. The CRA test has been demonstrated by researchers to be as sensitive as methods that already exist for detecting and measuring the activity of T cells using more than 200 blood samples taken from individuals.
How will the findings of this study on the impact of T cells on COVID-19 benefit the world?
According to the researchers, this discovery enables studies to monitor the activity of T-cells on a global scale to be expanded rapidly and on a large scale without the need for specialized or costly equipment. The study’s findings show that the presence of anti-SRAS-CoV-2 antibodies in blood samples does not always correspond to a T-cell response. Researchers may be able to use this quick test to help define correlations between antibodies and T-cell protection for the COVID-19 vaccine’s development.
This important study, according to Duke-NUS’ Senior Vice-Dean for Research, advances the comprehension of the immune response of the body during a critical period in the pandemic. The use of a well-established ARC assay to accelerate the assessment of T-cell reactions in patients inoculated or recovering from COVID, as demonstrated in this study, as we combat the threat of new and emerging variants, vaccination strategies will take on a new dimension.
To further develop this rapid SARS-CoV-2 T cell test for clinical use worldwide, Duke-NUS licensed the test to Hyris, a biotechnology company focused on innovation. Hyris will use its Hyris SystemTM to further develop the test.
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