Vendredi 24 février 2023
Mathilde Massard (Université de Franche-Comté)
Memory response in acute SARS-CoV-2 reinfection
COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a viral infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) strain of coronavirus. This coronavirus was discovered in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan in China. The most common symptoms are fever, cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing. In the most serious forms, the appearance of an acute respiratory distress syndrome can lead to death, especially in people who are more fragile due to their age or some comorbidities. In the case of an infection by this type of virus, the immune response, which is the set of several mechanisms which allows the body to defend itself against this virus, plays a very important role. In the case of infection with SARS-CoV-2 the body uses a specific immune response to this virus and our immune system remembers certain cells that will allow it to defend itself more easily during a new infection with SARS-CoV-2. This immunes response is based on B-cells which produce the specific antibodies of this pathogen, as well as on T-cells capable of recognizing and destroying the cells which it has infected. We model the immune system of an average individual after acute SARS-CoV-2 reinfection and we investigate this within-host model to understand how memory T and B cells behave during acute reinfection.