Tulane University COVID Antibody and Immunity Network (TUCAIN)

总体汇总 SARS-CoV-2病毒是COVID-19的病原体，据报道全球已感染13，810，247人 截至2020年7月16日，死亡率为4.2%。在路易斯安那州，86，411名COVID-19患者中有超过7.3% 病例涉及癌症患者。理论上，恢复期血浆含有保护性抗体， 中和病毒并减轻其致病作用。然而，在我们的理解中仍然存在很大的差距。 驱动体液和细胞免疫反应的机制以及这些反应如何与疾病相关 当然和保护以及这些反应的持久性。此外，还需要进行血清学 准确测量这些应答的测定，用于血清诊断，并作为免疫和保护的相关物。 如果没有这些知识，恢复期血浆作为COVID-19治疗的真正有效性和我们的 了解对SARS-CoV-2的体液免疫反应，特别是在免疫功能低下的患者中， 仍将是未知数 杜兰大学康复抗体和免疫网络（TUCAIN）的总体目标是 在功能性和耐久性方面表征该响应。我们将通过调查来实现这一目标 以下广泛的具体目标：（1）表征体液免疫的进化，功能和寿命 应对COVID-19。(2)识别有助于持久或短暂免疫应答的细胞介导的免疫应答 SARS CoV-2体液免疫(3)将保护性和潜在致病性免疫反应与 住院COVID-19患者的临床过程。我们将通过研究一个多样化的队列来实现这些目标。 COVID-19幸存者和轻微患病血清转换者，包括大型恶性肿瘤患者队列。 使用连续的血液收集，我们将应用几种免疫学技术来研究进化， 随着时间的推移，免疫反应的持久性。我们还将把这些反应与患者的结果联系起来， 疾病的发病机制，使用“大数据”，系统生物学方法。一种方法，比如我们提出的方法， 将使我们能够确定COVID-19幸存者是否发展出长期的、基于抗体的保护， 确认恢复期血浆是否具有治疗潜力。这项研究将使我们能够确定新的目标， 药物和疫苗，为个性化治疗策略提供信息， 免疫功能低下的癌症患者，并提供适用于广泛的免疫系统的新的免疫算法。 一系列人类病原体。

Overall Summary The SARS-CoV-2 virus, the causative agent of COVID-19, has infected a reported 13,810,247 persons globally as of July 16, 2020 with a mortality rate of 4.2%. In the State of Louisiana, over 7.3% of the 86,411 COVID-19 cases involve people living with cancer. Theoretically, convalescent plasma contains protective antibodies that neutralizes virus and mitigates its pathogenic effects. Yet, there remains a large gap in our understanding of the mechanisms that drive humoral and cellular immune responses and how these responses correlate with disease course and protection as well as the durability of those responses. Furthermore, there is a need for serological assays that measure these responses accurately for serodiagnosis and as correlates of immunity and protection. Without this knowledge, the true efficacy of convalescent plasma as therapy for COVID-19 and our understanding of the humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2, especially in immunocompromised patients, will remain unknown. The overall goal of the Tulane University Convalescent Antibody and Immunity Network (TUCAIN) is to characterize this response with respect to functionality and durability. We will achieve this goal by investigating the following broad specific aims: (1) Characterize the evolution, function and longevity of the humoral immune response to COVID-19. (2) Identify cell mediated immune responses that contribute to durable or short-lived humoral immunity to SARS CoV-2. (3) Correlate protective and potentially pathogenic immune responses to the clinical course of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. We will achieve these goals by studying a diverse cohort of COVID-19 survivors and minimally sick seroconverters, including a large cohort of patients with malignancies. Using serial blood collections, we will apply several immunological technologies to study the evolution and durability of the immune response over time. We will also correlate these responses to patient outcomes and disease pathogenesis using a “big data”, systems biology approach. An approach, such as the one we propose, will allow us to determine if COVID-19 survivors develop long-term, antibody-based protection and we can confirm if convalescent plasma has therapeutic potential. This research will allow us to identify new targets for medicines and vaccines, inform personalized treatment strategies such as those required by immunocompromised patients with cancer, and to provide novel immunological algorithms applicable to a wide range of human pathogens.