Individuals with `Helper` T Cells Better Prepared to Fight Novel Coronavirus, Finds Study

Some people who have never been exposed to COVID-19 may be better prepared to fight the novel coronavirus due to their immune systems that appear to generate “helper” T cells which are capable of recognizing and responding to the virus, according to a new study.

Scientists have attributed this to cross-reactivity which takes place when the human body develops helper T cells in response to a different virus, but react similarly to previously unknown pathogens. This also indicates that these T cells could be left over during their previous exposure to a different coronavirus, most likely the one that causes the common cold.

“Vaccine development against acute viral infections classically focuses on vaccine-elicited recapitulation of the type of protective immune response elicited by natural infection,” wrote the authors of the report published last month in the journal Cell. “Such foundational knowledge is currently missing for COVID-19, including how the balance and the phenotypes of responding cells vary as a function of disease course and severity. Such knowledge can guide selection of vaccine strategies most likely to elicit protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, knowledge of the T cell responses to COVID-19 can guide selection of appropriate immunological endpoints for COVID-19 candidate vaccine clinical trials, which are already starting.”