Keywords
cellular immunity
humoral immunity
immunological memory
immunization
How to Cite
Abstract
Background: More than three years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, mortality and hospitalization rates decreased thanks to vaccination; however, new variants, more transmissible and resistant to previous immunity, could be responsible for new and re-infections. Objective: To investigate the presence of specific cellular and humoral-mediated memory immunity in people recovered from COVID-19 who were not vaccinated at the time of this study. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out between July and August 2021 in 27 unvaccinated volunteers recovered from COVID-19. Cellular immunity was studied by flow cytometry through the presence of memory and immunological activation markers on TCD4, TCD8 and B lymphocytes, and then comparing basal and stimulated response with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 (Wilcoxon test for paired samples, R study program). Anti-Spike protein IgG antibodies were measured. The study was approved by the institutional Ethics Committee. Results: The memory cell response on CD4, CD8 and CD19 lymphocytes was significantly higher in the SARS-CoV-2 stimulated state than in the basal state (p< 0.05). The 74.07% of volunteers (20/27) were IgG reactive anti-SARS-CoV-2. The time between the diagnosis of COVID-19 and this immunological study was 6 to 13 months. Conclusions: Unvaccinated individuals showed specific cellular and humoral memory immunity against SARS-CoV-2 approximately one year after natural infection. These results allow us to better understand the anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response and can contribute to the planning of new immunization strategies.
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