Forecasting the action of CAR-T cells against SARS-corona virus-II infection with branching process

Abstract

The CAR-T cells are the genetically engineered T cells, designed to work specifically for the virus antigens (or other antigens, such as tumour specific antigens). The CAR-T cells work as the living drug and thus provides an adoptive immunotherapy strategy. The novel corona virus treatment and control designs are still under clinical trials. One of such techniques is the injection of CAR-T cells to fight against the COVID-19 infection. In this manuscript, the hypothesis is based on the CAR-T cells, that are suitably engineered towards SARS-2 viral antigen, by the N protein. The N protein binds to the SARS-2 viral RNA and is found in abundance in this virus, thus for the engineered cell research, this protein sequence is chosen as a potential target. The use of the sub-population of T-reg cells is also outlined. Mathematical modeling of such complex line of action can help to understand the dynamics. The modeling approach is inspired from the probabilistic rules, including the branching process, the Moran process and kinetic models. The Moran processes are well recognized in the fields of artificial intelligence and data science. The model depicts the infectious axis “virus—CAR-T cells—memory cells”. The theoretical analysis provides a positive therapeutic action; the delay in viral production may have a significant impact on the early stages of infection. Although it is necessary to carefully evaluate the possible side effects of therapy. This work introduces the possibility of hypothesizing an antiviral use by CAR-T cells.