Dissecting the SARS-CoV2-specific immune response by epitope and single cell mapping in differentially affected individuals

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While many countries are facing a second wave of infection, the exact immunological pathomechanism that causes a small percentage of infected patients to suffer particularly severe and complicated courses of disease, remains unclear. In order to uncover the immunological basis of the severe courses of the disease, we will perform screening experiments using MHC-Dextramer embedded SARS-CoV2 epitopes to identify the most immunogenic virus epitopes comparing differentially affected patients and healthy probands. In a second step we will use these identified epitopes to dissect the T-cell response of antigen-specific and non-antigen-specific T cells at a single cell level, including T cell receptor sequencing and 5´single cell RNA-sequencing. We will compare patients with asymtopmatic infection to moderate and severe COVID-19 disease and healthy probands. The overall aim of the study is to generate a precise map of the T-cell response against the SARS-CoV2 virus. This data will be not only important to understand the disease but similar important guide drug repurposing and development as well as vaccine development.