Emergence of immune escape at dominant SARS-CoV-2 killer T cell epitope.

Since the onset of the pandemic, multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged with increasing ability to evade neutralizing antibodies. Thus, earlier interest in defining the correlates of protection from infection, mainly mediated by humoral immunity, has shifted to correlates of protection from disease, which require a more comprehensive analysis of both humoral and cellular immunity. In this review, we summarized the evidence that supports the role of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells induced by infection, by vaccination or by their combination (defined as hybrid immunity) in disease protection. We then analyzed the different epidemiological and virological variables that can modify the magnitude, function and anatomical localization of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells and their influence in the ability of T cells to protect the host from severe COVID-19 development. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants capable of evading neutralizing antibodies have increased the interest in defining the immunological correlates of disease protection. Bertoletti, Le Bert, and Tan summarize how SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell magnitude, function and anatomical localization can affect the their ability to protect against severe COVID-19.

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