Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 21, 2025

Analysis of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-specific CD8+ T-cells in Rhesus Macaques by Peptide-MHC-I Tetramer Staining
Published on: December 23, 2016
SARS-CoV-2 infection protects against rechallenge in rhesus macaques
Abishek Chandrashekar1, Jinyan Liu1, Amanda J Martinot1,2
1Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Abstract:
An understanding of protective immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical for vaccine and public health strategies aimed at ending the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A key unanswered question is whether infection with SARS-CoV-2 results in protective immunity against reexposure. We developed a rhesus macaque model of SARS-CoV-2 infection and observed that macaques had high viral loads in the upper and lower respiratory tract, humoral and cellular immune responses, and pathologic evidence of viral pneumonia. After the initial viral clearance, animals were rechallenged with SARS-CoV-2 and showed 5 log10 reductions in median viral loads in bronchoalveolar lavage and nasal mucosa compared with after the primary infection. Anamnestic immune responses after rechallenge suggested that protection was mediated by immunologic control. These data show that SARS-CoV-2 infection induced protective immunity against reexposure in nonhuman primates.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cross-reactivity
Immunological Memory
What is Immunological Memory?
Immunological memory is an integral function of the immune system that allows it to recognize and react more rapidly and effectively to pathogens previously encountered. This feature...
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
Viral Recombination
Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response

