AUTHOR=Koenen Hans J. P. M. , Kouijzer Ilse J. E. , de Groot Michel , Peters Steffie , Lobeek Daphne , van Genugten Evelien A. J. , Diavatopoulos Dimitri A. , van Oosten Nienke , Gianotten Sanne , Prokop Mathias M. , Netea Mihai G. , van de Veerdonk Frank L. , Aarntzen Erik H. J. G. 

TITLE=Preliminary evidence of localizing CD8+ T-cell responses in COVID-19 patients with PET imaging

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1414415

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1414415

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<p>The upper respiratory tract (URT) is the entry site for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), from where it further disseminates. Early and effective adaptive immune responses are crucial to restrict viral replication and limit symptom development and transmission. Current vaccines increasingly incorporate strategies to boost mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive technology that measures cellular responses at a whole-body level. In this case series, we explored the feasibility of [<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-crefmirlimab berdoxam PET to assess CD8+ T-cell localization during active COVID-19. Our results suggest that CD8+ T-cell distributions assessed by PET imaging reflect their differentiation and functional state in blood. Therefore, PET imaging may represent a novel tool to visualize and quantify cellular immune responses during infections at a whole-body level.</p>