About this Research Topic
At the time of writing this call for papers for the special issue: “Changes in T cell populations and cytokine production in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals; their role in prognosis” (June 10, 2022), over 534 million people have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom over 6.3 million have died.
Early studies of COVID-19 reported that infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 results in dysregulation of the immune and hematopoietic systems, manifested by lymphopenia, increased numbers of hyperactivated neutrophils and NK cells, and the development of tolerogenic APCs that suppress T-cell-mediated immunity. In patients with COVID-19, lymphopenia, mainly due to depletion of effector T cells, with a concomitant decrease in regulatory T cells (Tregs), accompanied by significant upregulation of cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, and chemokines MCP1, IP-10, MIP1A, MIP1B, have been associated with a poor outcome.
The continued evolution of SARS-CoV-2, including the rapid accumulation of viral mutations to the point that new viral variants with different characteristics are emerging, has led to great concern about the ability of these variants to evade the immune response triggered by natural infection and/or vaccination. The recent wave of infection has been caused by the omicron variant (B.1.1.529), which
has 5 sublineages (BA.1-5) that differ in the number of mutations in the spike protein, and by the emerging deltacron variant, which resulted from recombination of the omicron with the delta
(B.1.617.2) variant.
The rapid international spread of emerging variants with mutations associated with escape from vaccine-induced immunity poses a major challenge for pandemic control and prevention of COVID-
19. Important questions have been raised about the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on transmissibility, disease severity, the effectiveness of existing COVID-19 vaccines in preventing severe disease, humoral response, and the role of T-cell immunity in vaccinated individuals.
Recent studies have shown that heavy mutations in the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron and deltacron variants have resulted in their ability to evade spike-specific neutralizing antibodies; however, their effect on cellular immunity including cross-reactive T cells generated by vaccination or natural infection is less clear.
Detailed studies linking humoral and cellular immunity to the COVID-19 outcome will be useful for
uncovering prognostic biomarkers and developing future vaccines.
We welcome research papers on immune system involvement in COVID-19 including, but not limited to, the following topics:
- The role of immune cells and cytokines in COVID-19
- Immune biomarkers for COVID-19
Early studies of COVID-19 reported that infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 results in dysregulation of the immune and hematopoietic systems, manifested by lymphopenia, increased numbers of hyperactivated neutrophils and NK cells, and the development of tolerogenic APCs that suppress T-cell-mediated immunity. In patients with COVID-19, lymphopenia, mainly due to depletion of effector T cells, with a concomitant decrease in regulatory T cells (Tregs), accompanied by significant upregulation of cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, and chemokines MCP1, IP-10, MIP1A, MIP1B, have been associated with a poor outcome.
The continued evolution of SARS-CoV-2, including the rapid accumulation of viral mutations to the point that new viral variants with different characteristics are emerging, has led to great concern about the ability of these variants to evade the immune response triggered by natural infection and/or vaccination. The recent wave of infection has been caused by the omicron variant (B.1.1.529), which
has 5 sublineages (BA.1-5) that differ in the number of mutations in the spike protein, and by the emerging deltacron variant, which resulted from recombination of the omicron with the delta
(B.1.617.2) variant.
The rapid international spread of emerging variants with mutations associated with escape from vaccine-induced immunity poses a major challenge for pandemic control and prevention of COVID-
19. Important questions have been raised about the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on transmissibility, disease severity, the effectiveness of existing COVID-19 vaccines in preventing severe disease, humoral response, and the role of T-cell immunity in vaccinated individuals.
Recent studies have shown that heavy mutations in the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron and deltacron variants have resulted in their ability to evade spike-specific neutralizing antibodies; however, their effect on cellular immunity including cross-reactive T cells generated by vaccination or natural infection is less clear.
Detailed studies linking humoral and cellular immunity to the COVID-19 outcome will be useful for
uncovering prognostic biomarkers and developing future vaccines.
We welcome research papers on immune system involvement in COVID-19 including, but not limited to, the following topics:
- The role of immune cells and cytokines in COVID-19
- Immune biomarkers for COVID-19
Keywords: COVID-19, Effector T cells, Regulatory T cells, TFH cells, Th17 cells, cytokines, inflammation, antibodies, variants of concern, long COVID, vaccines, Antigen presenting cells, B-cells, Gene expression, Post-translational modification, Therapy
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
