Pre-existing and early cellular immune factors correlate with functionally complete protection against primary controlled human SARS-CoV-2 infection.

ABSTRACT: Identifying host factors that mediate protection against newly-emergent viruses is needed for improved pandemic preparedness. Here, we analysed pre- and early post-exposure immune factors associated with resisting SARS-CoV-2 infection after human challenge in seronegative individuals, using multiplex protein, cytometric and RNA sequencing approaches in the nasopharynx and circulation. Pre-existing cross-reactive antibodies correlate poorly with clinical outcome. Instead, protection is associated with heightened nasopharyngeal CCL13 levels locally produced by conventional dendritic cells and monocytes, along with cross-reactive T cells and less differentiated NK cells. Conditional independence network analysis implicates nasal CCL13 as the central node connected to pre-existing non-structur

SUBMITTER: Wagstaffe HR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12789448 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature