Methods
To this purpose, the activation, cytokine profile and specificity of T-cell clones against unmutated and omicron Spike (S)-protein was analyzed, HLA restriction was determined and most promising T-cell receptor (TCR) was introduced into allogeneic T cells via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated orthotopic TCR replacement. Finally, T-cell responses of engineered T cells was determined and durability of the TCR replacement measured. Perspective: SARS-CoV-2 specific engineered T cells recognizing a genomically stable region of the S-protein of all SARS-CoV 2 variants were successfully generated. Such transgenic T cells exhibit favorable effector functions and provide a treatment option of immunocompromised COVID-19 patients.
