AUTHOR=Steiner Sophie , Schwarz Tatjana , Corman Victor M. , Sotzny Franziska , Bauer Sandra , Drosten Christian , Volk Hans-Dieter , Scheibenbogen Carmen , Hanitsch Leif G. TITLE=Reactive T Cells in Convalescent COVID-19 Patients With Negative SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Serology JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.687449 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2021.687449 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=
Despite RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19, specific antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike are undetectable in serum in approximately 10% of convalescent patients after mild disease course. This raises the question of induction and persistence of SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cells in these convalescent individuals. Using flow cytometry, we assessed specific SARS-CoV-2 and human endemic coronaviruses (HCoV-229E, -OC43) reactive T cells after stimulation with spike and nucleocapsid peptide pools and analyzed cytokine polyfunctionality (IFN