Karolin I. Wagner

Loading metrics Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article Abstract Background COVID-19 has so far affected more than 250 million individuals worldwide, causing more than 5 million deaths. Several risk factors for severe disease have been identified, most of which coincide with advanced age. In younger individuals, severe COVID-19 often occurs in the absence of obvious comorbidities.

Highlights • SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells are detectable up to12 months post infection • scRNA sequencing reveals polyclonal CD8+ T cells with variable functionalities • high avidity CD8+ T cells engineered with SARS-CoV-2 specific TCRs are cytotoxic • single cell signature for highly functional SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells SUMMARY T cell immunity is crucial for the control of SARS-CoV-2 infections and has been widely studied on a quantitative level.