Front Immunol . Follicular Helper T Cells in the Immunopathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection

[tetano]

Front Immunol


. 2021 Sep 16;12:731100.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.731100. eCollection 2021.
Follicular Helper T Cells in the Immunopathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection


Dawei Cui ¹ , Yuan Tang ^{2 3} , Qi Jiang ⁴ , Daixi Jiang ⁵ , Yun Zhang ⁶ , Yan Lv ¹ , Dandan Xu ¹ , Jian Wu ⁵ , Jue Xie ¹ , Chengping Wen ⁶ , Liwei Lu ^{2 3}



Affiliations

• PMID: 34603308
• PMCID: PMC8481693
• DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.731100

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a serious infectious disease that has led to a global pandemic with high morbidity and mortality. High-affinity neutralizing antibody is important for controlling infection, which is closely regulated by follicular helper T (Tfh) cells. Tfh cells play a central role in promoting germinal center reactions and driving cognate B cell differentiation for antibody secretion. Available studies indicate a close relationship between virus-specific Tfh cell-mediated immunity and SARS-CoV-2 infection progression. Although several lines of evidence have suggested that Tfh cells contribute to the control of SARS-CoV-2 infection by eliciting neutralizing antibody productions, further studies are needed to elucidate Tfh-mediated effector mechanisms in anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity. Here, we summarize the functional features and roles of virus-specific Tfh cells in the immunopathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and in COVID-19 vaccines, and highlight the potential of targeting Tfh cells as therapeutic strategy against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Keywords: B cells; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Tfh cells; neutralizing antibody.