According to a new study, T-cells — a type of white blood cell that is an essential part of the immune system — taken from the blood of recovered Covid-19 patients can help in the treatment of Covid-19 infected people.
The study, published in the journal Blood, stated that these cells need to be taken and multiplied in the lab so that they can effectively target proteins that are important for the virus to function.
Lead author of the study, Michael Keller, a paediatric immunology specialist at Children's National Hospital, said: "We found that many people who recover from Covid-19 have T-cells that recognise and target viral proteins of SARS-CoV-2, giving them immunity from the virus because those T-cells are primed to fight it."
He added: "This suggests that adoptive immunotherapy using convalescent T-cells to target these regions of the virus may be an effective way to protect vulnerable people, especially those with compromised immune systems due to cancer therapy or transplantation."
The researchers involved in the Cellular Therapy Programme at Children's National hypothesised that the expanded group of Covid-19 virus-targeting T-cells could be infused into immuno-compromised patients. This can help patients to boost their immunity that can fight the virus.