Human T-cell immunity against the emerging and re-emerging viruses

Over the past decade, we have seen an alarming number of high-profile outbreaks of newly emerging and re-emerging viruses. Recent outbreaks of avian influenza viruses, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronaviruses, Zika virus and Ebola virus present great threats to global health. Considering the pivotal role of host T-cell immunity in the alleviation of symptoms and the clearance of viruses in patients, there are three issues to be primarily concerned about T-cell immunity when a new virus emerges: first, does the population possess pre-existing T-cells against the new virus through previous infections of genetically relevant viruses; second, does a proper immune response arise in the patients to provide protection through an immunopathogenic effect; lastly, how long can the virus-specific immune memory persist. Herein, we summarize the current updates on the characteristics of human T-cell immunological responses against recently emerged or re-emerged viruses, and emphasize the necessity for timely investigation on the T-cell features of these viral diseases, which may provide beneficial recommendations for clinical diagnosis and vaccine development.