Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation announced that immunoSEQ® T-MAP™ COVID was used in the Nature study to measure the T-cell immune response elicited by the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in the context of multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2, including B 1.351 and B.1.1.7. The study provides further evidence that the T-cell response may contribute to protection from COVID-19. Adaptive’s Technology was used to quantify T-cell expansion across all regions of the virus, demonstrating that the T-cell response is broad and unaltered by mutations that render vaccine-generated antibodies less effective. The study was conducted by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, MA. In the multinational phase 3 ENSEMBLE trial, participants given Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine experienced similar efficacy against the B.1.351 variant. To understand the mechanism of protection, the COV1001 phase 1/2 trial analyzed blood samples from 20 vaccinated individuals to measure antibody immune response (humoral immune response) and T-cell response (cellular immune response) against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain WA1/2020 as well as against the B.1.1.7, CAL.20C, P.1., and B.1.351 variants. Post-vaccination, results showed that the levels of neutralizing antibodies were diminished against the variants, but that the T-cell immune response was preserved, suggesting T cells may provide protection against these emerging strains. Results indicate T-cells may be an important correlate of protection and should be considered as an endpoint for vaccine clinical trials. immunoSEQ T-MAP COVID combines the sequencing and mapping capabilities of Adaptive’s immune medicine platform to show how T cells respond to different parts of the virus, including the various parts of the spike protein. Mapping exactly how the variants impact different parts of the virus can indicate if the immune response is likely to be affected.