 Asst Prof. Nina Le Bert
Assistant Professor in Program of Emerging Infectious Diseases
Duke-NUS Medical School
Singapore |
Title:
Virus-specific CD8⁺ T Cells in the Human Nasal Cavity
Abstract:
The nasal mucosa is a critical frontline for protection against respiratory viruses, yet little is known about the presence and persistence of virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells in this compartment. Using paired nasal and blood samples, we show that nasal-resident CD8⁺ T cells appear only after local viral infection, not parenteral vaccination. Their presence is restricted to respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A, while no HCMV-specific CD8⁺ T cells are detected, underscoring the necessity of local antigen encounter. SARS-CoV-2–specific nasal CD8⁺ T cells typically wane within months, with the notable exception of NSP12-specific cells in one individual persisting for ≥4 years. In contrast, influenza-specific nasal CD8⁺ T cells are consistently detected, likely reflecting repeated seasonal exposures. Phenotypically, nasal-resident CD8⁺ T cells display a cytotoxic, tissue-resident profile with limited stemness, suggesting that sustained local immunity requires recurrent exposure to the same virus or epitope. These findings have important implications for respiratory virus vaccine strategies aiming to induce durable protection at the site of entry.
Biography:
Nina Le Bert, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School. She specializes in viral hepatitis, focusing on virus-specific T and B cell responses in HBV infection, and is developing new tools to characterize immunity in chronic HBV patients receiving novel therapies.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has investigated SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in COVID-19 and SARS convalescent individuals and healthy controls. By profiling these T cells in blood and nasal compartments, she has provided key insights into their role in immunity to infection and vaccination. She is currently studying nasal-resident SARS-CoV-2- and influenza-specific T cells in a Singapore-based human challenge study and leading the development of a rapid cytokine release assay for nasal-resident T cells within the CEPI-funded MUSICC consortium.
In 2021, she co-founded T Cell Diagnostics (TCD), a biotech company developing point-of-care assays to measure virus-specific T cell responses and offering advanced, customized immune monitoring for exploratory endpoints in clinical trials.
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