A Virus-Specific Immune Rheostat In The Immunome Of Patients Recovering From Mild Covid-19

An accurate depiction of the convalescent COVID-19 immunome will help delineate the immunological milieu crucial for disease resolution and protection. Using mass cytometry, we characterized the immune architecture in patients recovering from mild COVID-19. We identified a virus-specific immune rheostat composed of an effector T (T-eff) cell recall response that is balanced by the enrichment of a highly specialized regulatory T (T-reg) cell subset. Both components were reactive against a peptide pool covering the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. We also observed expansion of IFN gamma(+) memory CD4(+) T cells and virus-specific follicular helper T (T-FH) cells. Overall, these findings pinpoint critical immune effector and regulatory mechanisms essential for a potent, yet harmless resolution of COVID-19 infection.