tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cells
. 2021 Nov 15;10(11):3182.
doi: 10.3390/cells10113182.
NK and T Cell Immunological Signatures in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19
Laura Bergantini[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Miriana d'Alessandro[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paolo Cameli[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dalila Cavallaro[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sara Gangi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Behar Cekorja[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Piersante Sestini[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elena Bargagli[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by coronavirus 2 emerged in Wuhan (China) in December 2019 and has severely challenged the human population. NK and T cells are involved in the progression of COVID-19 infection through the ability of NK cells to modulate T-cell responses, and by the stimulation of cytokine release. No detailed investigation of the NK cell landscape in clinical SARS-CoV-2 infection has yet been reported. A total of 35 COVID-19 hospitalised patients were stratified for clinical severity and 17 healthy subjects were enrolled. NK cell subsets and T cell subsets were analysed with flow cytometry. Serum cytokines were detected with a bead-based multiplex assay. Fewer CD56[SUP]dim[/SUP]CD16[SUP]bright[/SUP]NKG2A[SUP]+[/SUP]NK cells and a parallel increase in the CD56[SUP]+[/SUP]CD69[SUP]+[/SUP]NK, CD56[SUP]+[/SUP]PD-1[SUP]+[/SUP]NK, CD56[SUP]+[/SUP]NKp44[SUP]+[/SUP]NK subset were reported in COVID-19 than HC. A significantly higher adaptive/memory-like NK cell frequency in patients with severe disease than in those with mild and moderate phenotypes were reported. Moreover, adaptive/memory-like NK cell frequencies were significantly higher in patients who died than in survivors. Severe COVID-19 patients showed higher serum concentrations of IL-6 than mild and control groups. Direct correlation emerged for IL-6 and adaptive/memory-like NK. All these findings provide new insights into the immune response of patients with COVID-19. In particular, they demonstrate activation of NK through overexpression of CD69 and CD25 and show that PD-1 inhibitory signalling maintains an exhausted phenotype in NK cells. These results suggest that adaptive/memory-like NK cells could be the basis of promising targeted therapy for future viral infections.
Keywords: NK cells; T cells; cytomegalovirus; immunology; lung transplant.
. 2021 Nov 15;10(11):3182.
doi: 10.3390/cells10113182.
NK and T Cell Immunological Signatures in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19
Laura Bergantini[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Miriana d'Alessandro[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paolo Cameli[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dalila Cavallaro[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sara Gangi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Behar Cekorja[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Piersante Sestini[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elena Bargagli[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34831404
- DOI: 10.3390/cells10113182
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by coronavirus 2 emerged in Wuhan (China) in December 2019 and has severely challenged the human population. NK and T cells are involved in the progression of COVID-19 infection through the ability of NK cells to modulate T-cell responses, and by the stimulation of cytokine release. No detailed investigation of the NK cell landscape in clinical SARS-CoV-2 infection has yet been reported. A total of 35 COVID-19 hospitalised patients were stratified for clinical severity and 17 healthy subjects were enrolled. NK cell subsets and T cell subsets were analysed with flow cytometry. Serum cytokines were detected with a bead-based multiplex assay. Fewer CD56[SUP]dim[/SUP]CD16[SUP]bright[/SUP]NKG2A[SUP]+[/SUP]NK cells and a parallel increase in the CD56[SUP]+[/SUP]CD69[SUP]+[/SUP]NK, CD56[SUP]+[/SUP]PD-1[SUP]+[/SUP]NK, CD56[SUP]+[/SUP]NKp44[SUP]+[/SUP]NK subset were reported in COVID-19 than HC. A significantly higher adaptive/memory-like NK cell frequency in patients with severe disease than in those with mild and moderate phenotypes were reported. Moreover, adaptive/memory-like NK cell frequencies were significantly higher in patients who died than in survivors. Severe COVID-19 patients showed higher serum concentrations of IL-6 than mild and control groups. Direct correlation emerged for IL-6 and adaptive/memory-like NK. All these findings provide new insights into the immune response of patients with COVID-19. In particular, they demonstrate activation of NK through overexpression of CD69 and CD25 and show that PD-1 inhibitory signalling maintains an exhausted phenotype in NK cells. These results suggest that adaptive/memory-like NK cells could be the basis of promising targeted therapy for future viral infections.
Keywords: NK cells; T cells; cytomegalovirus; immunology; lung transplant.