Marked T cell activation, senescence, exhaustion and skewing towards TH17 in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia

Sara De Biasi, Marianna Meschiari, Lara Gibellini, Caterina Bellinazzi, Rebecca Borella, Lucia Fidanza, Licia Gozzi, Anna Iannone, Domenico Lo Tartaro, Marco Mattioli, Annamaria Paolini, Marianna Menozzi, Jovana Milić, Giacomo Franceschi, Riccardo Fantini, Roberto Tonelli, Marco Sita, Mario Sarti, Tommaso Trenti, Lucio Brugioni, Luca Cicchetti, Fabio Facchinetti, Antonello Pietrangelo, Enrico Clini, Massimo Girardis, Giovanni Guaraldi, Cristina Mussini and Andrea Cossarizza ()
Additional contact information
Sara De Biasi: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Marianna Meschiari: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Lara Gibellini: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Caterina Bellinazzi: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Rebecca Borella: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Lucia Fidanza: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Licia Gozzi: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Anna Iannone: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Domenico Lo Tartaro: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Marco Mattioli: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Annamaria Paolini: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Marianna Menozzi: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Jovana Milić: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Giacomo Franceschi: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Riccardo Fantini: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Roberto Tonelli: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Marco Sita: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Mario Sarti: AOU Policlinico
Tommaso Trenti: AOU Policlinico
Lucio Brugioni: MIAC, AOU Policlinico
Luca Cicchetti: Labospace, via Apelle 41
Fabio Facchinetti: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Antonello Pietrangelo: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine
Enrico Clini: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Massimo Girardis: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Giovanni Guaraldi: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Cristina Mussini: AOU Policlinico and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Andrea Cossarizza: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Abstract The immune system of patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 is severely impaired. Detailed investigation of T cells and cytokine production in patients affected by COVID-19 pneumonia are urgently required. Here we show that, compared with healthy controls, COVID-19 patients’ T cell compartment displays several alterations involving naïve, central memory, effector memory and terminally differentiated cells, as well as regulatory T cells and PD1+CD57+ exhausted T cells. Significant alterations exist also in several lineage-specifying transcription factors and chemokine receptors. Terminally differentiated T cells from patients proliferate less than those from healthy controls, whereas their mitochondria functionality is similar in CD4+ T cells from both groups. Patients display significant increases of proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory cytokines, including T helper type-1 and type-2 cytokines, chemokines and galectins; their lymphocytes produce more tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-17, with the last observation implying that blocking IL-17 could provide a novel therapeutic strategy for COVID-19.

Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-17292-4

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17292-4

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