Optimization of antigen specific CD8 + T cell activation conditions for infectious diseases including COVID-19.

Here, we describe the use of the artificial antigen presenting cell (aAPC) system for the verification of T cell epitopes. We purify and activate CD8+ T cells from blood samples from HLA-A2 that are negative for SARS-CoV-2. CD8+ T cells are combined with peptide-loaded T2-A2 cells, which are then stained with a SARS-CoV-2 specific MHC-1 tetramer to identify specific HLA-A2 restricted T cell epitopes. The use of aAPC and healthy donors means that only BSL2 lab conditions are needed.