Unique immunological profile in patients with COVID-19.

Unique immunological profile in patients with COVID-19. Cell Mol Immunol. 2020 Oct 15;: Authors: Varchetta S, Mele D, Oliviero B, Mantovani S, Ludovisi S, Cerino A, Bruno R, Castelli A, Mosconi M, Vecchia M, Roda S, Sachs M, Klersy C, Mondelli MU Abstract The relationship between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and host immunity is poorly understood. We performed an extensive analysis of immune responses in 32 patients with severe COVID-19, some of whom succumbed. A control population of healthy subjects was included. Patients with COVID-19 had an altered distribution of peripheral blood lymphocytes, with an increased proportion of mature natural killer (NK) cells and low T-cell numbers. NK cells and CD8+ T cells overexpressed T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-3 (TIM-3) and CD69. NK cell exhaustion was attested by increased frequencies of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) positive cells and reduced frequencies of natural killer group 2 member D (NKG2D)-, DNAX accessory molecule-1 (DNAM-1)- and sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectin 7 (Siglec-7)-expressing NK cells, associated with a reduced ability to secrete interferon (IFN)γ. Patients with poor outcome showed a contraction of immature CD56bright and an expansion of mature CD57+ FcεRIγneg adaptive NK cells compared to survivors. Increased serum levels of IL-6 were also more frequently identified in deceased patients compared to survivors. Of not...
Source: Cellular and Molecular Immunology - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Cell Mol Immunol Source Type: research