Performance of T-Track® SARS-CoV-2, an Innovative Dual Marker RT-qPCR-Based Whole-Blood Assay for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2-Reactive T Cells

Abstract

T-cell immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) plays a central role in the control of the virus. In this study, we evaluated the performance of T-Track® SARS-CoV-2, a novel CE-marked quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay, which relies on the combined evaluation of IFNG and CXCL10 mRNA levels in response to the S1 and NP SARS-CoV-2 antigens, in 335 participants with or without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination, respectively. Of the 62 convalescent donors, 100% responded to S1 and 88.7% to NP antigens. In comparison, of the 68 naïve donors, 4.4% were reactive to S1 and 19.1% to NP. Convalescent donors <50 and ≥50 years of age demonstrated a 100% S1 reactivity and an 89.1% and 87.5% NP reactivity, respectively. T-cell responses by T-Track® SARS-CoV-2 and IgG serology by recomLine SARS-CoV-2 IgG according to the time from the last immunisation (by vaccination or viral infection) were comparable. Both assays showed a persistent cellular and humoral response for at least 36 weeks post immunisation in vaccinated and convalescent donors. Our results demonstrate the very good performance of the T-Track® SARS-CoV-2 molecular assay and suggest that it might be suitable to monitor the SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell response in COVID-19 vaccinations trials and cross-reactivity studies.