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Eur J Immunol
. 2025 Mar;55(3):e202451565.
doi: 10.1002/eji.202451565. Age and Latent Cytomegalovirus Infection Do Not Affect the Magnitude of De Novo SARS-CoV-2-Specific CD8+ T Cell Responses
Jet van den Dijssel 1 2 , Veronique A L Konijn 1 2 , Mariël C Duurland 1 2 , Rivka de Jongh 1 2 , Lianne Koets 1 3 , Barbera Veldhuisen 1 4 , Hilde Raaphorst 5 , Annelies W Turksma 5 , Julian J Freen-van Heeren 5 , Maurice Steenhuis 1 , Theo Rispens 1 2 6 , C Ellen van der Schoot 1 , S Marieke van Ham 1 2 7 , Rene A W van Lier 8 , Klaas P J M van Gisbergen 1 2 9 , Anja Ten Brinke 1 2 , Carolien E van de Sandt 1 2 10
Affiliations
Immunosenescence, age-related immune dysregulation, reduces immunity upon vaccinations and infections. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection results in declining naïve (Tnaïve) and increasing terminally differentiated (Temra) T cell populations, further aggravating immune aging. Both immunosenescence and CMV have been speculated to hamper the formation of protective T-cell immunity against novel or emerging pathogens. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic presented a unique opportunity to examine the impact of age and/or CMV on the generation of de novo SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cell responses in 40 younger (22-40 years) and 37 older (50-66 years) convalescent individuals. Heterotetramer combinatorial coding combined with phenotypic markers were used to study 35 SARS-CoV-2 epitope-specific CD8+ T cell populations directly ex vivo. Neither age nor CMV affected SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cell frequencies, despite reduced total CD8+ Tnaïve cells in older CMV- and CMV+ individuals. Robust SARS-CoV-2-specific central memory CD8+ T (Tcm) responses were detected in younger and older adults regardless of CMV status. Our data demonstrate that immune aging and CMV status did not impact the SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cell response. However, SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells of older CMV- individuals displayed the lowest stem cell memory (Tscm), highest Temra and PD1+ populations, suggesting that age, not CMV, may impact long-term SARS-CoV-2 immunity.
Keywords: CMV; COVID‐19; aging; antigen‐specific CD8+ T cells; immunosenescence.
. 2025 Mar;55(3):e202451565.
doi: 10.1002/eji.202451565. Age and Latent Cytomegalovirus Infection Do Not Affect the Magnitude of De Novo SARS-CoV-2-Specific CD8+ T Cell Responses
Jet van den Dijssel 1 2 , Veronique A L Konijn 1 2 , Mariël C Duurland 1 2 , Rivka de Jongh 1 2 , Lianne Koets 1 3 , Barbera Veldhuisen 1 4 , Hilde Raaphorst 5 , Annelies W Turksma 5 , Julian J Freen-van Heeren 5 , Maurice Steenhuis 1 , Theo Rispens 1 2 6 , C Ellen van der Schoot 1 , S Marieke van Ham 1 2 7 , Rene A W van Lier 8 , Klaas P J M van Gisbergen 1 2 9 , Anja Ten Brinke 1 2 , Carolien E van de Sandt 1 2 10
Affiliations
- PMID: 40071711
- DOI: 10.1002/eji.202451565
Immunosenescence, age-related immune dysregulation, reduces immunity upon vaccinations and infections. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection results in declining naïve (Tnaïve) and increasing terminally differentiated (Temra) T cell populations, further aggravating immune aging. Both immunosenescence and CMV have been speculated to hamper the formation of protective T-cell immunity against novel or emerging pathogens. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic presented a unique opportunity to examine the impact of age and/or CMV on the generation of de novo SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cell responses in 40 younger (22-40 years) and 37 older (50-66 years) convalescent individuals. Heterotetramer combinatorial coding combined with phenotypic markers were used to study 35 SARS-CoV-2 epitope-specific CD8+ T cell populations directly ex vivo. Neither age nor CMV affected SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cell frequencies, despite reduced total CD8+ Tnaïve cells in older CMV- and CMV+ individuals. Robust SARS-CoV-2-specific central memory CD8+ T (Tcm) responses were detected in younger and older adults regardless of CMV status. Our data demonstrate that immune aging and CMV status did not impact the SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cell response. However, SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells of older CMV- individuals displayed the lowest stem cell memory (Tscm), highest Temra and PD1+ populations, suggesting that age, not CMV, may impact long-term SARS-CoV-2 immunity.
Keywords: CMV; COVID‐19; aging; antigen‐specific CD8+ T cells; immunosenescence.