Cross-reactive T cell recognition between ‘common cold’ and CoV-2

[Beaker]

Interesting suggestions for immunity here. Not my field, but it looks possibly optimistic.

Importantly, we detected SARS-CoV-2−reactive CD4+ T cells in ∼40-60% of unexposed individuals, suggesting cross-reactive T cell recognition between circulating ‘common cold’ coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S00 ... ctitle0015

[Martin Y]

To help those of us below minimum understanding; is the implication that roughly half of people might have some small advantage in immune response to Covid19 due to previous common cold exposure?

[Beaker]

Yes, that’s how it was suggested to me by someone who knows more than I do about this field.

[AMS]

Interesting to know if this explains the discrepancy between asymptotic/mild v severe cases. If I remember right, T-cell responses get weaker in old age too.

[Martin Y]

Well in that case I'm now glad I had a stinking cold just as all this was kicking off.

[raven]

I seem to remember something on the radio early on in all this, about similarity to cold viruses circulating back in the 80s that might confer some partial immunity. No idea if that came to anything.

[Gfamily]

Is this the first time that an xkcd might have been refuted effectively on the day after it was published?

https://m.xkcd.com/2306/

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