An Outlook on Antigen-Specific Adoptive Immunotherapy for Viral Infections With a Focus on Covid-19 Publisher Pubmed



Monzavi SM^{1, 2, 3} ; Naderi M¹ ; Ahmadbeigi N¹ ; Kajbafzadeh AM^{2, 3} ; Muhammadnejad S¹
Source: Cellular Immunology Published:2021

Abstract

Although not a standard-of-care yet, adoptive immunotherapeutic approaches have gradually earned a place within the list of antiviral therapies for some of fatal and hard-to-treat viral diseases. To maintain robust antiviral immunity and to effectively target the viral particles and virally-infected cells, immune cells capable of recognizing the viral antigens are required. While conventional vaccination can induce these cells in vivo; another option is to prime and generate antigen-specific immune cells ex vivo. This approach has been successfully trialed for virulent opportunistic viral infections after bone marrow transplantation. Amid the crisis of SARS-CoV2 pandemic, which has been followed by the success of certain early-authorized vaccines; some institutions and companies have explored the effects of viral-specific adoptive cell transfers (ACTs) in trials, as alternative treatments. Aimed at outlining a perspective on antigen-specific adoptive immunotherapy for viral infections, this review article specifically provides an appraisal of ACT-based studies/trials on SARS-CoV2 infection. © 2021 Elsevier Inc.