ArticleNature immunology2025
Robust mucosal SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells effectively combat COVID-19 and establish polyfunctional resident memory in patient lungs.
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Article in Nature immunology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
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26citing papers in PubMed
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Role of CD4 T Cell Repertoire and Immune Memory Mechanisms in Vaccination and Infection Immunity.Immunological reviews · 2026Review
- The challenge and promise of studying human antigen-specific T cells.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2026Review
- Harnessing mucosal immunity for protective vaccines.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2026Review
- CD8MedComm · 2026Review
- Discordant Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 Exposure in Household Contacts.Clinical immunology communications · 2026Article
- Highly focused human CD8+ T-cell response in the lower airways during acute influenza infection.Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) · 2026Article
- Article
- Immunological memory to vaccines.Immunity · 2026Review
- Intranasal immunization with live-attenuated RSV-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccines elicits antigen-specific systemic and mucosal immunity and protects against viral challenge and natural infection.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A modular three in one mucosal vaccine against three antigenic clusters of ACE2 using sarbecoviruses.NPJ vaccines · 2026Article
- Immune dysregulation triggered by inflammatory cytokines in patients with severe respiratory infections.Respiratory research · 2026Article
- Interferon-stimulated gene GALNT2 restricts respiratory virus infections.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- TCR β CDR3 repertoire signatures in paired PBMC and BALF from children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- A CCL4-enriched NK-cell transcriptional state is associated with inflammatory and myeloid-stromal programs in colorectal cancer liver metastasis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Prolonged persistence of tissue-resident memory cells in the upper airway following SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination.Clinical & translational immunology · 2026Article
- Adenoviral vector oropharyngeal spray immunization elicits mucosal immunity and protects against heterologous SARS-CoV-2 infection.NPJ vaccines · 2025Article
- A Tertiary Lymphoid Structure-Related Gene Signature Predicts Prognosis and Treatment Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.World journal of oncology · 2025Article
- Clinical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with chronic hepatitis B during interferon antiviral therapy.Biosafety and health · 2025Article
- Bioinformatics analysis identifiesTranslational cancer research · 2025Article
- Mechanisms of Interleukin-10-Mediated Immunosuppression in Viral Infections.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
42 authors.
Airu Zhu *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhao Chen *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Qihong Yan *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1645-8764
Mei Jiang *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Xuesong Liu *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhengtu Li *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Na Li *Southern Medical University Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Chunli Tang *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Wenhua Jian *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Jiangping HeGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Lan ChenState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Jinling ChengState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Canjie ChenState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Tian TangState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhiwei XuState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Qingtao HuState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8291-7116
Fang LiState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Yanqun WangState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Jing SunState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhen ZhuangState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Liyan WenState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Jianfen ZhuoState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Donglan LiuState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Yanjun ZhangState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Xiaofang HuangState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Suxiang LiState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Qiuhui ZengState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Fangli ChenState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Liang ZhouState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Dongdong LiuState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Changhao ZhongState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Yu ChenState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Shiyue LiState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Kangli LiangGuangdong Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Foshan, China.
Na ZhongShenzhen Peacock Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Shenzhen, China.
Xinmei ZhangShenzhen Peacock Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Shenzhen, China.
Jiekai ChenCenter for Cell Lineage and Development, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5168-7074
Xiaobo ChenState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. xiaobo-win@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2866-5859
Yonghao XuState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. dryonghao@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4905-0979
Nanshan ZhongState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. nanshan@vip.163.com.
Jingxian ZhaoState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. zhaojingxian@gird.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2615-3182
Jincun ZhaoState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. zhaojincun@gird.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2515-5589
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mucosal antigen-specific T cells are pivotal for pathogen clearance and immune modulation in respiratory infections. Dysregulated T cell responses exacerbate coronavirus disease 2019 severity, marked by cytokine storms and respiratory failure. Despite extensive description in peripheral blood, the characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific T cells in the lungs remain elusive. Here we conducted integrated single-cell profiling of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in 122 bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and 280 blood samples from 159 patients, including 27 paired BALF and blood samples from 24 patients. SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were robustly elicited in BALF irrespective of prior vaccination, correlating with diminished viral loads, lessened systemic inflammation and improved respiratory function. SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in BALF exhibited profound activation, along with proliferative and multi-cytokine-producing capabilities and a glycolysis-driven metabolic signature, which were distinct from those observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. After viral clearance, these specific T cells maintained a polyfunctional tissue-resident memory phenotype, highlighting their critical roles in infection control and long-term protection.
Indexed as
COVID-19Immunologic MemoryLungMemory T CellsSARS-CoV-2T-LymphocytesAdultAgedBronchoalveolar Lavage FluidCytokinesFemaleHumansImmunity, MucosalMaleMiddle AgedSingle-Cell AnalysisCytokines
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