Remember when COVID-19 turned our world upside down in 2020? While it’s not dominating headlines like before, the mystery around the virus continues to puzzle scientists and medical experts globally.
The year 2020 was filled with a whirlwind of emotions and fears as the world grappled with the unknowns of the coronavirus. Lockdowns and widespread uncertainty became the norm.
Nonetheless, through relentless research and global cooperation, scientists made significant strides in understanding the virus, leading to the swift development of vaccines that helped curb its spread and alleviate its impact.
However, the quest to fully understand COVID-19 doesn’t stop there. Recent findings suggest that in some individuals, traces of the virus can linger long after recovery, sparking concerns about long-term effects.
While many managed to shake off the virus with mild symptoms or even none at all, others weren’t so lucky, battling what’s now known as long-COVID, an exhausting extension of the virus’s impact.
A groundbreaking study tracking 24 COVID-19 patients for up to 900 days post-infection has shed new light on the role of T cells, suggesting these immune cells may play a more significant role than previously thought.
What are T cells, you ask? They’re crucial white blood cells, born from stem cells in the bone marrow, that ward off infections by protecting the body.
Just last month, a separate investigation by Imperial College London suggested that therapies targeting these T cells could potentially offer relief to long-COVID sufferers.
This innovative team, formed back in 2020, has dedicated its efforts to tracking the behavior of T cells post-infection to better understand their role in sustained COVID-19 immunity.
Danny Altmann, a Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London who wasn’t involved in the study, remarked on the high concentrations of T cells found in specific body locations following infection.
He shared insights about the study, saying, “[It] is a novel approach […] that allows them to map activated T cells in the body.
“They find patterns of long-term T cell activation that may help to explain patterns of Long Covid symptoms.
“For example, people with respiratory symptoms showed long-term homing of activated T cells to the lung.”
Additionally, other studies have observed activated T cells gathering at the gut wall, prompting further analysis through gut biopsies. The findings revealed persistent COVID-19 RNA, indicating a potential long-term virus reservoir within the body.
While the discovery of T cells’ prolonged activation offers a new piece of the puzzle, it also raises more questions. Scientists remain uncertain whether these T cells are reacting to leftover fragments of the virus or are actively combating ongoing infection particles.