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Abortive infection: T cells as early, antibody-independent defenders

Nature Reviews Immunology (2026)Cite this article

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Neutralizing antibodies are widely viewed as the frontline of antiviral defence. Yet emerging evidence reveals that T cells can terminate infection before it is detectable by routine clinical assays, independently of antibodies. Recognizing this capacity reframes correlates of protection and calls for vaccines that harness T cells as early, decisive defenders.

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Fig. 1: T cell-mediated termination of viral infection at its inception.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Tinelli and S. Cristiano for secretarial assistance; and members of the Swadling, Maini and Iannacone laboratory for discussions. This work was supported by: European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant 101118936 (to V.F.), Italian Ministry for University and Research Grant PE00000007 INF-ACT (to V.F.), Fondazione Prossimo Mio (to V.F.); a Rosetrees Trust and Pears Foundation Advancement Fellowship (to L.S.), Wellcome Career Development award (302473/Z/23/Z) (to L.S.); a Wellcome Investigator award and Medical Research Council collaborative grant IMMPROVE (MR/Y004450/1) (to M.K.M.); ERC Advanced Grant 101141363 (to M.I.), Fondo Italiano per la Scienza (FIS) Advanced Grant FIS-2023-00745 (to M.I.), Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) Investigator Grant 30520 (to M.I.), Italian Ministry for University and Research Project no. PE00000007 INF-ACT and PRIN 2022FMESXL (to M.I.), and Medical Research Council (MRC) Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme MR/Y019466/1 (to L.S., M.K.M., M.I.).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Leo Swadling, Valeria Fumagalli.

  2. These authors jointly supervised this work: Mala K. Maini, Matteo Iannacone.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, University College London, London, UK

    Leo Swadling & Mala K. Maini

  2. Division of Immunology, Transplantation, and Infectious Diseases, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy

    Valeria Fumagalli & Matteo Iannacone

  3. Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy

    Valeria Fumagalli & Matteo Iannacone

Authors
  1. Leo Swadling
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  2. Valeria Fumagalli
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  3. Mala K. Maini
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  4. Matteo Iannacone
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mala K. Maini or Matteo Iannacone.

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Competing interests

M.I. participates in advisory boards/consultantship or receives funding from Gilead Sciences, BioNTech, GSK, Curie.Bio and Pilatus Biosciences. M.K.M. participates in advisory boards on hepatitis B functional cure for Astrivax, Gilead Sciences, Vir Biosciences, GSK, Roche and Moderna. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.

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Swadling, L., Fumagalli, V., Maini, M.K. et al. Abortive infection: T cells as early, antibody-independent defenders. Nat Rev Immunol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-026-01298-y

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