Analysis of peripheral lymphocyte subsets and T-cell exhaustion in SARS-CoV-2 Infection

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SOYYİGİT S., oksuzer cimsir d., öncül a., Pekel A. A., Oner Erkekol F., GÜNER R., ...Daha Fazla

Tüberküloz ve Toraks, cilt.72, sa.2, ss.152-166, 2024 (ESCI) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 72 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.5578/tt.202402929
  • Dergi Adı: Tüberküloz ve Toraks
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, CAB Abstracts, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.152-166
  • Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Analysis of peripheral lymphocyte subsets and T-cell exhaustion in SARS-CoV-2 Infection Introduction: Immune responses against Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) may be highly complex. It has been suggested that T-cell fatigue develops due to con- tinuous stimulation of T-cells by SARS-CoV-2 in Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). It was aimed to assess peripheral lymphocyte subsets and T-cell exhaustion in various clinical courses of the disease in patients diagnosed with COVID-19. materials and methods: This study included 150 patients who were assigned into the “mild-to-moderate disease” group, or “severe disease” group based on their clinical and laboratory characteristics. Peripheral lymphocyte subsets and T-cell exhaustion markers [programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 (Tim-3)] were deter- mined in the peripheral blood using flow cytometry. Results: Mean (±SD) age was 53.3 ± 14.5 years, and female to male ratio was 55/95. In the mild-to-moderate disease (MMD) group, 55 patients had pneumonia and 20 patients had COVID-19 without pneumonia. In the severe disease (SD) group, 43 patients had severe pneumoniae and 32 patients were in critical condition. Lymphocyte counts were less than 1.0 x 109 /L in 69.3% of the patients in the SD group, and the difference between the MMD group and SD group was statistically significant (p= 0.001). Total T cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell counts were significantly lower in the SD group vs. MMD group (p< 0.001, p< 0.001, p< 0.001, respectively). PD-1 expression by CD8+ and CD4 T+ cells was higher (p= 0.042, p= 0.029, respectively) and Tim-3 expression from CD4 T+ cells was lower (p= 0.000) in the SD group vs. MMD group. Serum IFN-γ levels were not statistically different in the MMD and SD groups (p= 0.2). Conclusion: T-cell counts may be significantly reduced along with an increased expression of the T-cell exhaustion marker PD-1 in severe COVID-19, but Tim-3 expression was not increased in our study patients.