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@ARTICLE{Weigl:302002,
      author       = {N. Weigl and C. Pleimelding and L. Gilberg and D. Huynh and
                      I. Brand and J. Bruger and J. Frese and T. M. Eser and M. I.
                      M. Ahmed and J. M. Guggenbuehl-Noller and R. Stirner and M.
                      Hoelscher and M. Pritsch and C. Geldmacher and S. Kobold$^*$
                      and J. Roider},
      collaboration = {K.-/.-s. group},
      title        = {{D}etectable {SARS}-{C}o{V}-2 specific immune responses in
                      recovered unvaccinated individuals 250 days post wild type
                      infection.},
      journal      = {PLOS ONE},
      volume       = {20},
      number       = {6},
      issn         = {1932-6203},
      address      = {San Francisco, California, US},
      publisher    = {PLOS},
      reportid     = {DKFZ-2025-01201},
      pages        = {e0325923 -},
      year         = {2025},
      abstract     = {Memory T cells play an important role in mediating
                      long-lasting adaptive immune responses to viral infections,
                      such as SARS-CoV-2. In the context of the latter, much of
                      our current knowledge stems from studies in vaccinated
                      individuals or repeatedly infected individuals. However,
                      limited knowledge is available on these responses in fully
                      naive individuals in German communities. We performed
                      immunophenotyping of a previously naive SARS-CoV-2 cohort in
                      convalescent individuals after asymptomatic to moderate
                      COVID-19. The samples were collected median 250 days post
                      infection during the first wave of the COVID pandemic in
                      Germany (March - May 2020). In this cohort of 174
                      individuals, we phenotyped different leukocyte cell
                      populations in peripheral blood (B, T and Natural Killer
                      cells). We then assessed the serostatus against the
                      SARS-CoV-2 antigens Nucleocapsid (N) and Spike subunit (S1)
                      with its receptor binding domain (RBD), as these are
                      important correlates of protection, by testing for presence
                      of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. We also measured IgG
                      antibody responses against the N antigen of the common cold
                      coronaviruses HCoV-OC43, HCoV-HKU1, HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-229E,
                      to determine possible cross-reactivity. In a subset of the
                      cohort (n = 76), we performed intracellular staining assays
                      (ICS) after stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV antigens.
                      Key findings are significant differences in frequency of
                      CD4+ memory T cell populations, notably CD4+ TEM and CD4+
                      TEMRA cells, between the group of SARS-CoV-2 positive
                      individuals and the control group. These differences
                      correlated with cytokine production (TNFα, IFNγ) after
                      stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 peptides, indicating a specific
                      T cell immune response. In conclusion, a clear memory T cell
                      and humoral response can be detected up to 250 days post
                      mild to moderate COVID-19 disease. Our results underline
                      findings reported by others indicating a lasting cellular
                      immune response even in a population which previously had
                      not been exposed to SARS-CoV-2.},
      keywords     = {Humans / COVID-19: immunology / COVID-19: virology /
                      SARS-CoV-2: immunology / Male / Female / Antibodies, Viral:
                      immunology / Antibodies, Viral: blood / Adult / Middle Aged
                      / Immunoglobulin G: immunology / Immunoglobulin G: blood /
                      Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus: immunology / Germany:
                      epidemiology / Memory T Cells: immunology / Aged /
                      Immunologic Memory / Antibodies, Viral (NLM Chemicals) /
                      Immunoglobulin G (NLM Chemicals) / Spike Glycoprotein,
                      Coronavirus (NLM Chemicals) / spike protein, SARS-CoV-2 (NLM
                      Chemicals)},
      cin          = {MU01},
      ddc          = {610},
      cid          = {I:(DE-He78)MU01-20160331},
      pnm          = {899 - ohne Topic (POF4-899)},
      pid          = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-899},
      typ          = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
      pubmed       = {pmid:40498720},
      doi          = {10.1371/journal.pone.0325923},
      url          = {https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/302002},
}