T-Helper Cell Subset Response Is a Determining Factor in COVID-19 Progression

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Sara Garcinuño¹  Patricia Suàrez-Fernández¹  Antonio Lalueza²  Oscar Cabrera-Marante³  Laura Naranjo³  Francisco Javier Gil-Etayo³  Daniel Arroyo³  Daniel E. Pleguezuelo³  Luis M. Allende⁴  Esther Mancebo⁴  Estela Paz-Artal⁵  Antonio Serrano⁶  Raquel Díaz-Simón⁷ 

[1] Departamento de Inmunologá, Instituto de Investigación, Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain;Departamento de Inmunologá, Instituto de Investigación, Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain;Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain;Departamento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain;Department of Immunology, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain;Department of Immunology, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain;Departamento de Inmunologá, Instituto de Investigación, Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain;Department of Immunology, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain;Departamento de Inmunologá, Instituto de Investigación, Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain;Departamento de Inmunología, Oftalmología y Otorrinolaringología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain;Department of Immunology, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain;Departamento de Inmunologá, Instituto de Investigación, Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain;Department of Epidemiology, Biomedical Research Centre Network for Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain;Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain;

关键词: COVID-19;    SARS-Cov2;    T-helper;    immunity;    cytokines;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fcimb.2021.624483

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The immune response type organized against viral infection is determinant in the prognosis of some infections. This work has aimed to study Th polarization in acute COVID-19 and its possible association with the outcome through an observational prospective study. Fifty-eight COVID-19 patients were recruited in the Medicine Department of the hospital “12 de Octubre,” 55 patients remaining after losses to follow-up. Four groups were established according to maximum degree of disease progression. T-helper cell percentages and phenotypes, analyzed by flow cytometer, and serum cytokines levels, analyzed by Luminex, were evaluated when the microbiological diagnosis (acute phase) of the disease was obtained. Our study found a significant reduction of %Th1 and %Th17 cells with higher activated %Th2 cells in the COVID-19 patients compared with reference population. A higher percent of senescent Th2 cells was found in the patients who died than in those who survived. Senescent Th2 cell percentage was an independent risk factor for death (OR: 13.88) accompanied by the numbers of total lymphocytes (OR: 0.15) with an AUC of 0.879. COVID-19 patients showed a profile of pro-inflammatory serum cytokines compared to controls, with higher levels of IL-2, IL-6, IL-15, and IP-10. IL-10 and IL-13 were also elevated in patients compared to controls. Patients who did not survive presented significantly higher levels of IL-15 than those who recovered. No significant differences were observed according to disease progression groups. The study has shown that increased levels of IL-15 and a high Th2 response are associated with a fatal outcome of the disease.

【 授权许可】

CC BY