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  • Detection of SARS-CoV-2-Spe...
    Ni, Ling; Ye, Fang; Cheng, Meng-Li; Feng, Yu; Deng, Yong-Qiang; Zhao, Hui; Wei, Peng; Ge, Jiwan; Gou, Mengting; Li, Xiaoli; Sun, Lin; Cao, Tianshu; Wang, Pengzhi; Zhou, Chao; Zhang, Rongrong; Liang, Peng; Guo, Han; Wang, Xinquan; Qin, Cheng-Feng; Chen, Fang; Dong, Chen

    Immunity (Cambridge, Mass.), 06/2020, Volume: 52, Issue: 6
    Journal Article

    The World Health Organization has declared SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak a worldwide pandemic. However, there is very limited understanding on the immune responses, especially adaptive immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we collected blood from COVID-19 patients who have recently become virus-free, and therefore were discharged, and detected SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral and cellular immunity in eight newly discharged patients. Follow-up analysis on another cohort of six patients 2 weeks post discharge also revealed high titers of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. In all 14 patients tested, 13 displayed serum-neutralizing activities in a pseudotype entry assay. Notably, there was a strong correlation between neutralization antibody titers and the numbers of virus-specific T cells. Our work provides a basis for further analysis of protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2, and understanding the pathogenesis of COVID-19, especially in the severe cases. It also has implications in developing an effective vaccine to SARS-CoV-2 infection. •SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies are detected in COVID-19 convalescent subjects•Most COVID-19 convalescent individuals have detectable neutralizing antibodies•Cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 are found in COVID-19 convalescent subjects•Neutralization antibody titers correlate with the numbers of virus-specific T cells. In blood samples from COVID-19 convalescent subjects, Ni et al. have detected SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral and cellular immunity. Most subjects display serum neutralizing activities, which correlate with the numbers of virus-specific T cells.