PRE-CLINICAL STUDY OF A NEW IMMUNE-CHECKPOINT INHIBITOR IN SARS-COV-2 INFECTION – CLIRCOV

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID19) is induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and caused over 5 million deaths world-wide in less than two years. Despite intense researches it is not clear how long last the immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 following infection or vaccination. Moreover, it is difficult to predict if current vaccine will protect from new SARS-CoV-2 variants At physiopathology standpoint COVID19 is characterized by a dysregulation of immune responses and metabolic pathways associated with an enhanced expression of LILRB1/MHC-I inhibitory axis that could account for these dysfunctions. Our main objective is to characterize the impact of blocking the LILRB1 / MHC-I interaction on immune responses, metabolism and viral replication. For this purpose, we will use a preclinical macaque model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall, the data from this study could rapidly lead to the development of new clinical protocols aiming to improve the management of patients infected by SARS-CoV-2.