A regulatory T cell signature distinguishes the immune landscape of COVID-19 patients from those with other respiratory infections.

Vick, Sarah C; Frutoso, Marie; Mair, Florian; Konecny, Andrew J; Greene, Evan; Wolf, Caitlin R; Logue, Jennifer K; Franko, Nicholas M et al. · Sci Adv · 2021

case_control · Level III

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Abstract

Despite recent studies of immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), little is known about how the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 differs from other respiratory infections. We compare the immune signature from hospitalized SARS-CoV-2–infected patients to patients hospitalized prepandemic with influenza or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Our in-depth profiling indicates that the immune landscape in SARS-CoV-2 patients is largely similar to flu or RSV patients. Unique to patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 who had the most critical clinical disease were changes in the regulatory T cell (T<sub>reg</sub>) compartment. A T<sub>reg</sub> signature including increased frequency, activation status, and migration markers was correlated COVID-19 severity. These findings are relevant as T<sub>regs</sub> are considered for 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.