Fig. 6
SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-specific CD8+ T-cell response by ACE2 CAR monocytes. (a) PBMCs from HLA-A*02:01-positive healthy donors previously vaccinated (n = 3 biologically independent samples per group) were co-cultured for 24 h with CAR-m loaded with (spike) or without (ctrl) antigen. The spike protein-specific CD8+ T-cell response was evaluated by assessing the expression of CD69 and cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2). Representative flow cytometry plots (left panel) and a corresponding bar graph (right panel) are shown. (b) PBMCs (n = 3 biologically independent samples per group) were co-cultured for 24 h with various CAR-m containing the cytosolic domains of CD32a, CD32a+CD11b, CD32a+CD18, and CD32a+TLR4 in the absence or presence of antigen. Data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism 8.0.2. Statistical significance was determined by unpaired two-tailed Student’s t-test and is presented as the mean ± s.d. (ns, not significant; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ****p < 0.0001)
