scholarly journals A differential regulatory T cell signature distinguishes the immune landscape of COVID-19 hospitalized patients from those hospitalized with other respiratory viral infections

Author(s):  
Sarah C Vick ◽  
Marie Frutoso ◽  
Florian Mair ◽  
Andrew J Konecny ◽  
Evan Greene ◽  
...  

SARS-CoV-2 infection has caused a lasting global pandemic costing millions of lives and untold additional costs. Understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 has been one of the main challenges in the past year in order to decipher mechanisms of host responses and interpret disease pathogenesis. Comparatively little is known in regard to how the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 differs from other respiratory infections. In our study, we compare the peripheral blood immune signature from SARS-CoV-2 infected patients to patients hospitalized pre-pandemic with Influenza Virus or Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Our in-depth profiling indicates that the immune landscape in patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 is largely similar to patients hospitalized with Flu or RSV. Similarly, serum cytokine and chemokine expression patterns were largely overlapping. Unique to patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 who had the most critical clinical disease state were changes in the regulatory T cell (Treg) compartment. A Treg signature including increased frequency, activation status, and migration markers was correlated with the severity of COVID-19 disease. These findings are particularly relevant as Tregs are being discussed as a therapy to combat the severe inflammation seen in COVID-19 patients. Likewise, having defined the overlapping immune landscapes in SARS-CoV-2, existing knowledge of Flu and RSV infections could be leveraged to identify common treatment strategies.

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Johan Geiser ◽  
Guy Boivin ◽  
Song Huang ◽  
Samuel Constant ◽  
Laurent Kaiser ◽  
...  

Respiratory viral infections constitute a global public health concern. Among prevalent respiratory viruses, two pneumoviruses can be life-threatening in high-risk populations. In young children, they constitute the first cause of hospitalization due to severe lower respiratory tract diseases. A better understanding of their pathogenesis is still needed as there are no approved efficient anti-viral nor vaccine against pneumoviruses. We studied Respiratory Syncytial virus (RSV) and human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in single and dual infections in three-dimensional cultures, a highly relevant model to study viral respiratory infections of the airway epithelium. Our investigation showed that HMPV is less pathogenic than RSV in this model. Compared to RSV, HMPV replicated less efficiently, induced a lower immune response, did not block cilia beating, and was more sensitive to IFNs. In dual infections, RSV-infected epithelia were less permissive to HMPV. By neutralizing IFNs in co-infection assays, we partially prevented HMPV inhibition by RSV and significantly increased the number of co-infected cells in the tissue. This suggests that interference in dual infection would be at least partly mediated by the host immune response. In summary, this work provides new insight regarding virus-host and virus-virus interactions of pneumoviruses in the airway epithelium. This could be helpful for the proper handling of at-risk patients.


Author(s):  
Kristen Orumaa ◽  
Margaret R. Dunne

AbstractCOVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was first documented in late 2019, but within months, a worldwide pandemic was declared due to the easily transmissible nature of the virus. Research to date on the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 has focused largely on conventional B and T lymphocytes. This review examines the emerging role of unconventional T cell subsets, including γδ T cells, invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells and mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells in human SARS-CoV-2 infection.Some of these T cell subsets have been shown to play protective roles in anti-viral immunity by suppressing viral replication and opsonising virions of SARS-CoV. Here, we explore whether unconventional T cells play a protective role in SARS-CoV-2 infection as well. Unconventional T cells are already under investigation as cell-based immunotherapies for cancer. We discuss the potential use of these cells as therapeutic agents in the COVID-19 setting. Due to the rapidly evolving situation presented by COVID-19, there is an urgent need to understand the pathogenesis of this disease and the mechanisms underlying its immune response. Through this, we may be able to better help those with severe cases and lower the mortality rate by devising more effective vaccines and novel treatment strategies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ma. Del Rocío Baños-Lara ◽  
Boyang Piao ◽  
Antonieta Guerrero-Plata

Mucins (MUC) constitute an important component of the inflammatory and innate immune response. However, the expression of these molecules by respiratory viral infections is still largely unknown. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) are two close-related paramyxoviruses that can cause severe low respiratory tract disease in infants and young children worldwide. Currently, there is not vaccine available for neither virus. In this work, we explored the differential expression of MUC by RSV and hMPV in human epithelial cells. Our data indicate that the MUC expression by RSV and hMPV differs significantly, as we observed a stronger induction of MUC8, MUC15, MUC20, MUC21, and MUC22 by RSV infection while the expression of MUC1, MUC2, and MUC5B was dominated by the infection with hMPV. These results may contribute to the different immune response induced by these two respiratory viruses.


2013 ◽  
Vol 190 (12) ◽  
pp. 6145-6154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhubo Chen ◽  
Yanmei Han ◽  
Yan Gu ◽  
Yanfang Liu ◽  
Zhengping Jiang ◽  
...  

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Catalina A. Andrade ◽  
Alexis M. Kalergis ◽  
Karen Bohmwald

Respiratory infections are among the major public health burdens, especially during winter. Along these lines, the human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) is the principal viral agent causing acute lower respiratory tract infections leading to hospitalization. The pulmonary manifestations due to hRSV infection are bronchiolitis and pneumonia, where the population most affected are infants and the elderly. However, recent evidence suggests that hRSV infection can impact the mother and fetus during pregnancy. Studies have indicated that hRSV can infect different cell types from the placenta and even cross the placenta barrier and infect the fetus. In addition, it is known that infections during the gestational period can lead to severe consequences for the development of the fetus due not only to a direct viral infection but also because of maternal immune activation (MIA). Furthermore, it has been described that the development of the central nervous system (CNS) of the fetus can be affected by the inflammatory environment of the uterus caused by viral infections. Increasing evidence supports the notion that hRSV could invade the CNS and infect nervous cells, such as microglia, neurons, and astrocytes, promoting neuroinflammation. Moreover, it has been described that the hRSV infection can provoke neurological manifestations, including cognitive impairment and behavioral alterations. Here, we will review the potential effect of hRSV in brain development and the potential long-term neurological sequelae.


Immunobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 225 (5) ◽  
pp. 151993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Batista-Duharte ◽  
Damiana Téllez-Martínez ◽  
Cleverton Roberto de Andrade ◽  
Marisa Campos Polesi ◽  
Deivys Leandro Portuondo ◽  
...  

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Emma Rey-Jurado ◽  
Karen Bohmwald ◽  
Hernán G. Correa ◽  
Alexis M. Kalergis

T cells play an essential role in the immune response against the human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV). It has been described that both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells can contribute to the clearance of the virus during an infection. However, for some individuals, such an immune response can lead to an exacerbated and detrimental inflammatory response with high recruitment of neutrophils to the lungs. The receptor of most T cells is a heterodimer consisting of α and β chains (αβTCR) that upon antigen engagement induces the activation of these cells. The αβTCR molecule displays a broad sequence diversity that defines the T cell repertoire of an individual. In our laboratory, a recombinant Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine expressing the nucleoprotein (N) of hRSV (rBCG-N-hRSV) was developed. Such a vaccine induces T cells with a Th1 polarized phenotype that promote the clearance of hRSV infection without causing inflammatory lung damage. Importantly, as part of this work, the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of T cells expanded after hRSV infection in naïve and rBCG-N-hRSV-immunized mice was characterized. A more diverse TCR repertoire was observed in the lungs from rBCG-N-hRSV-immunized as compared to unimmunized hRSV-infected mice, suggesting that vaccination with the recombinant rBCG-N-hRSV vaccine triggers the expansion of T cell populations that recognize more viral epitopes. Furthermore, differential expansion of certain TCRVβ chains was found for hRSV infection (TCRVβ+8.3 and TCRVβ+5.1,5.2) as compared to rBCG-N-hRSV vaccination (TCRVβ+11 and TCRVβ+12). Our findings contribute to better understanding the T cell response during hRSV infection, as well as the functioning of a vaccine that induces a protective T cell immunity against this virus.


Pathogens ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Retamal-Díaz ◽  
Covián ◽  
Pacheco ◽  
Castiglione-Matamala ◽  
Bueno ◽  
...  

Worldwide, human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common etiological agent for acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRI). RSV-ALRI is the major cause of hospital admissions in young children, and it can cause in-hospital deaths in children younger than six months old. Therefore, RSV remains one of the pathogens deemed most important for the generation of a vaccine. On the other hand, the effectiveness of a vaccine depends on the development of immunological memory against the pathogenic agent of interest. This memory is achieved by long-lived memory T cells, based on the establishment of an effective immune response to viral infections when subsequent exposures to the pathogen take place. Memory T cells can be classified into three subsets according to their expression of lymphoid homing receptors: central memory cells (TCM), effector memory cells (TEM) and resident memory T cells (TRM). The latter subset consists of cells that are permanently found in non-lymphoid tissues and are capable of recognizing antigens and mounting an effective immune response at those sites. TRM cells activate both innate and adaptive immune responses, thus establishing a robust and rapid response characterized by the production of large amounts of effector molecules. TRM cells can also recognize antigenically unrelated pathogens and trigger an innate-like alarm with the recruitment of other immune cells. It is noteworthy that this rapid and effective immune response induced by TRM cells make these cells an interesting aim in the design of vaccination strategies in order to establish TRM cell populations to prevent respiratory infectious diseases. Here, we discuss the biogenesis of TRM cells, their contribution to the resolution of respiratory viral infections and the induction of TRM cells, which should be considered for the rational design of new vaccines against RSV.


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