Citation:
Ki Pui Lam, Marcos Chiñas, Amélie M Julé, Maria Taylor, Marina Ohashi, Mehdi Benamar, Elena Crestani, Mary Beth F Son, Janet Chou, Catherine Gebhart, Talal Chatila, Jane Newburger, Adrienne Randolph, Maria Gutierrez-Arcelus, and Lauren A Henderson. 2022. “
SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.” Clin Immunol, 243, Pp. 109106.
Abstract:
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a severe complication of SARS-CoV-2 infections that occurs in the pediatric population. We sought to characterize T cell responses in MIS-C compared to COVID-19 and pediatric hyperinflammatory syndromes. MIS-C was distinct from COVID-19 and hyperinflammatory syndromes due to an expansion of T cells expressing TRBV11-2 that was not associated with HLA genotype. Children diagnosed with MIS-C, but who were negative for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR and serology, did not display Vβ skewing. There was no difference in the proportion of T cells that became activated after stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 peptides in children with MIS-C compared to convalescent COVID-19. The frequency of SARS-CoV-2-specific TCRs and the antigens recognized by these TCRs were comparable in MIS-C and COVID-19. Expansion of Vβ11-2+ T cells was a specific biomarker of MIS-C patients with laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections. Children with MIS-C had robust antigen-specific T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2.