Immunological fingerprint in coronavirus disease-19 convalescents with and without post-COVID syndrome

Frontiers in Medicine

Medicine

Florian Klein¹  Henning Gruell²  Maike Schlotz²  Marie-Christine Albert³  Henning Walczak⁴  Michael Hallek⁵  Viktoria Linne⁵  Elisabeth Pracht⁵  Lea Katharina Picard⁶  Carola Horn⁷  Jan Rybniker⁷  Ferdinand Heyn⁷  Max Augustin⁷  Alexander Simonis⁷  Stella Ullrich⁷  Sebastian J. Theobald⁷  Ute Sandaradura de Silva⁷  Clara Lehmann⁷  Philipp Schommers⁸  Gerd Fätkenheuer⁹  Isabelle Suarez⁹  Christoph Wenisch^1,10  Alexander Zoufaly^1,11 

[1] Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Bonn-Cologne, Germany;Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Institute for Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Institute for Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Faculty of Medicine, Sigmund Freud University, Vienna, Austria;Department I of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Department I of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Department I of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Bonn-Cologne, Germany;Department I of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Bonn-Cologne, Germany;Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Department I of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany;German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Bonn-Cologne, Germany;Department IV of Internal Medicine, Klinik Favoriten, Vienna Healthcare Group, Vienna, Austria;Department IV of Internal Medicine, Klinik Favoriten, Vienna Healthcare Group, Vienna, Austria;Faculty of Medicine, Sigmund Freud University, Vienna, Austria;

关键词: post-COVID syndrome;    long COVID;    immunosuppression;    immune activation;    immunological fingerprint;    PCS;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2023.1129288

 received in 2023-01-09, accepted in 2023-03-24,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSymptoms lasting longer than 12  weeks after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are called post-coronavirus disease (COVID) syndrome (PCS). The identification of new biomarkers that predict the occurrence or course of PCS in terms of a post-viral syndrome is vital. T-cell dysfunction, cytokine imbalance, and impaired autoimmunity have been reported in PCS. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of conclusive information on the underlying mechanisms due to, among other things, a lack of controlled study designs.MethodsHere, we conducted a prospective, controlled study to characterize the humoral and cellular immune response in unvaccinated patients with and without PCS following SARS-CoV-2 infection over 7 months and unexposed donors.ResultsPatients with PCS showed as early as 6 weeks and 7 months after symptom onset significantly increased frequencies of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells secreting IFNγ, TNF, and expressing CD40L, as well as plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) with an activated phenotype. Remarkably, the immunosuppressive counterparts type 1 regulatory T-cells (TR1: CD49b/LAG-3+) and IL-4 were more abundant in PCS+.ConclusionThis work describes immunological alterations between inflammation and immunosuppression in COVID-19 convalescents with and without PCS, which may provide potential directions for future epidemiological investigations and targeted treatments.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Augustin, Heyn, Ullrich, Sandaradura de Silva, Albert, Linne, Schlotz, Schommers, Pracht, Horn, Suarez, Simonis, Picard, Zoufaly, Wenisch, Fätkenheuer, Gruell, Klein, Hallek, Walczak, Rybniker, Theobald and Lehmann.