Frontiers in Medicine (May 2024)

Preliminary evidence of localizing CD8+ T-cell responses in COVID-19 patients with PET imaging

  • Hans J. P. M. Koenen,
  • Ilse J. E. Kouijzer,
  • Michel de Groot,
  • Steffie Peters,
  • Daphne Lobeek,
  • Evelien A. J. van Genugten,
  • Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos,
  • Nienke van Oosten,
  • Sanne Gianotten,
  • Mathias M. Prokop,
  • Mihai G. Netea,
  • Frank L. van de Veerdonk,
  • Erik H. J. G. Aarntzen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2024.1414415
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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The upper respiratory tract (URT) is the entry site for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), from where it further disseminates. Early and effective adaptive immune responses are crucial to restrict viral replication and limit symptom development and transmission. Current vaccines increasingly incorporate strategies to boost mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive technology that measures cellular responses at a whole-body level. In this case series, we explored the feasibility of [89Zr]Zr-crefmirlimab berdoxam PET to assess CD8+ T-cell localization during active COVID-19. Our results suggest that CD8+ T-cell distributions assessed by PET imaging reflect their differentiation and functional state in blood. Therefore, PET imaging may represent a novel tool to visualize and quantify cellular immune responses during infections at a whole-body level.

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