A paper published in NATURE reports that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could infect T cells through receptor-dependent, S protein-mediated membrane fusion, and the infection could be inhibited by EK1 peptide, resulting in lymphocytopenia which could be one of the diagnostic indicators in COVID-19 patients.
SARS-CoV-2 infects T lymphocytes through its spike protein-mediated membrane fusion
Wang, X., Xu, W., Hu, G. et al. SARS-CoV-2 infects T lymphocytes through its spike protein-mediated membrane fusion. Cell Mol Immunol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-020-0424-9
