# Transfer of COVID-19 Immunity Between

> **NIH NIH P50** · BECKMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE/CITY OF HOPE · 2020 · $176,000

## Abstract

SUMMARY
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the ongoing
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The
United Patients with
serious underlying medical conditions, including immunocompromised cancer patients undergoing
hematopoietic cell transplantation, are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Along with investigations
coronavirus epidemic is progressively increasing in the
States and other countries with the number of global cases and deaths still climbing.
into the virology of SARS-CoV-2, understanding the fundamental immunity of COVID-19 is vital for the rational
design of effective therapies. Cellular therapy represents a novel immunotherapeutic modality to treat patients
with severe COVID-19 infections. SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells have been detected in most COVID-19 patients;
however, there is lack of detailed analysis of the effectiveness and longevity of the virus specific T cells in
protecting patients from subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, immunogenic T cell epitopes have not
yet been described, especially for CD4+ T cells critical for linking the cellular and humoral immune responses.
The overall goal of this project is to isolate, characterize, and expand SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells to
therapeutic doses to provide effective immunotherapy for patients with severe COVID-19 infections. We
hypothesize that adoptive transfer of SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells will a) elicitCD4+ and CD8+cellular
immunity in patients with current COVID-19 infections; b) persist following adoptive transfer; c) be available for
immediate use as off-the-shelf products in an HLA-dependent manner. In our Specific Aims, we propose to
extensively investigate the cellular immunity of SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells isolated from patients with
previous COVID-19 infections by measuring levels of virus-specific T cells in blood of people with previous
COVID-19 infections, characterizing the memory and exhaustion T cell phenotype, and evaluating function
against viral antigen in vitro and in vivo. Our team's experience with adoptive immunotherapeutic approaches
using virus specific T cells against cytomegalovirus (CMV) and other viruses combined with our established
platform for the isolation and expansion of CMV specific T cells, will allow for the rapid large-scale generation
of SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells with an array of HLA types and provide an off-the-shelf T cell product for
immediate use. Further, by using the novel MHC-PepSeq technology, we will identify immunogenic epitopes
restricted by MHC II molecules, which will assist candidate vaccine design and facilitate evaluation of vaccine
candidate immunogenicity. Our proposed studies will provide scientific insights into SARS-CoV-2 cellular
immunity, which may have broad implications for patients with COVID-19. Moreover, our proposed
manufacturing platform will allow us to develop off-the-shelf SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells with different HLA
types, wh...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10268483
- **Project number:** 3P50CA107399-13S1
- **Recipient organization:** BECKMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE/CITY OF HOPE
- **Principal Investigator:** Stephen J Forman
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $176,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10268483

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10268483, Transfer of COVID-19 Immunity Between (3P50CA107399-13S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10268483. Licensed CC0.

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