Tweet
Eur J Immunol
. 2025 Jul;55(7):e51888.
doi: 10.1002/eji.202551888. Aging and Viral Evolution Impair Immunity Against Dominant Pan-Coronavirus-Reactive T Cell Epitope
Lucie Loyal 1 2 , Karsten Jürchott 2 , Ulf Reimer 3 , Lil Meyer-Arndt 1 2 4 5 , Larissa Henze 1 2 , Norbert Mages 6 , Jak Kostrzanowski 7 8 , Bernhard Reus 7 , Maike Mangold 1 2 , Beate Kruse 1 2 , Manuela Dingeldey 1 2 , Birgit Sawitzki 2 9 , Janine Michel 10 , Marica Grossegesse 10 , Karsten Schnatbaum 3 , Holger Wenschuh 3 , Andreas Nitsche 10 , Nils Lachmann 11 12 , Bernd Timmermann 6 , Claudia Giesecke-Thiel 6 , Julian Braun 1 2 , Florian Kern 3 8 , Andreas Thiel 1 2
Affiliations
Immune evasion by escape mutations subverts immunity against SARS-CoV-2. A role of pan-coronavirus immunity for more durable protection is being discussed, but has remained understudied. We here investigated the effects of age, mutations, and homo-/heterologous vaccination regimens on the dominant pan-coronavirus-specific cellular and humoral epitope iCope after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in detail. In older individuals, the quantitatively and qualitatively reduced iCope-reactive CD4+ T cell responses with narrow TCR repertoires could not be enhanced by vaccination and were further compromised by emerging spike mutations. In contrast, pan-coronavirus-reactive humoral immunity was affected only by mutations and not by age. Our results reveal a distinct deficiency of the dichotomous layer of pan-coronavirus immunity in the older, critical for long-term protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Keywords: SARS‐CoV‐2; T cells; aging; cross reactivity; pan‐coronavirus.
. 2025 Jul;55(7):e51888.
doi: 10.1002/eji.202551888. Aging and Viral Evolution Impair Immunity Against Dominant Pan-Coronavirus-Reactive T Cell Epitope
Lucie Loyal 1 2 , Karsten Jürchott 2 , Ulf Reimer 3 , Lil Meyer-Arndt 1 2 4 5 , Larissa Henze 1 2 , Norbert Mages 6 , Jak Kostrzanowski 7 8 , Bernhard Reus 7 , Maike Mangold 1 2 , Beate Kruse 1 2 , Manuela Dingeldey 1 2 , Birgit Sawitzki 2 9 , Janine Michel 10 , Marica Grossegesse 10 , Karsten Schnatbaum 3 , Holger Wenschuh 3 , Andreas Nitsche 10 , Nils Lachmann 11 12 , Bernd Timmermann 6 , Claudia Giesecke-Thiel 6 , Julian Braun 1 2 , Florian Kern 3 8 , Andreas Thiel 1 2
Affiliations
- PMID: 40726062
- PMCID: PMC12304627
- DOI: 10.1002/eji.202551888
Immune evasion by escape mutations subverts immunity against SARS-CoV-2. A role of pan-coronavirus immunity for more durable protection is being discussed, but has remained understudied. We here investigated the effects of age, mutations, and homo-/heterologous vaccination regimens on the dominant pan-coronavirus-specific cellular and humoral epitope iCope after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in detail. In older individuals, the quantitatively and qualitatively reduced iCope-reactive CD4+ T cell responses with narrow TCR repertoires could not be enhanced by vaccination and were further compromised by emerging spike mutations. In contrast, pan-coronavirus-reactive humoral immunity was affected only by mutations and not by age. Our results reveal a distinct deficiency of the dichotomous layer of pan-coronavirus immunity in the older, critical for long-term protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Keywords: SARS‐CoV‐2; T cells; aging; cross reactivity; pan‐coronavirus.