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. 2021 Nov 8;13(11):2239. doi: 10.3390/v13112239

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Evidence of prolonged T-cell activation after mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. The polyclonal activator Cytostim was used to measure T-cell responses. COVID-19 seropositive individuals had a higher proportion of CD4+ (a) and CD8+ (b) activated T-cells 1 to 3 months after infection, compared to seronegative individuals after other respiratory infections. (c) The number of CD4+ T-cells that responded to polyclonal stimulation correlated with CRP in COVID-19 seropositive individuals. (d–g) Activation markers OX40, CCR6, CCR4, and CD69 on CD4+ T-cells were higher 1–3 months after COVID-19 infection, compared to after other respiratory infections, after Cytostim exposure. Each participant is indicated by a single data point: other respiratory infection n = 7–11; 1–3 months post COVID-19 infection n = 11–12; 6–9 months post COVID-19 infection n = 5–8. Multiple group comparisons in (a,b) and (d–g) were tested using Welch’s One-Way ANOVA and the Games–Howell post-hoc test; bars are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Data in C was assessed by Spearman’s rank correlation. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01.