Host Response Changes and Their Association with Mortality in COVID-19 Patients with Lymphopenia.

Abstract

<b>Rationale:</b> Lymphopenia in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is associated with increased mortality. <b>Objectives:</b> To explore the association between lymphopenia, host response aberrations, and mortality in patients with lymphopenic COVID-19. <b>Methods:</b> We determined 43 plasma biomarkers reflective of four pathophysiological domains: endothelial cell and coagulation activation, inflammation and organ damage, cytokine release, and chemokine release. We explored if decreased concentrations of lymphocyte-derived proteins in patients with lymphopenia were associated with an increase in mortality. We sought to identify host response phenotypes in patients with lymphopenia by cluster analysis of plasma biomarkers. <b>Measurements and Main Results:</b> A total of 439 general ward patients with COVID-19 were stratified by baseline lymphocyte counts: normal (>1.0 × 10⁹/L; <i>n</i> = 167), mild lymphopenia (>0.5 to ⩽1.0 × 10⁹/L; <i>n</i> = 194), and severe lymphopenia (⩽0.5 × 10⁹/L; <i>n</i> = 78). Lymphopenia was associated with alterations in each host response domain. Lymphopenia was associated with increased mortality. Moreover, in patients with lymphopenia (<i>n</i> = 272), decreased concentrations of several lymphocyte-derived proteins (e.g., CCL5, IL-4, IL-13, IL-17A) were associated with an increase in mortality (at <i>P</i> < 0.01 or stronger significance levels). A cluster analysis revealed three host response phenotypes in patients with lymphopenia: "hyporesponsive" (23.2%), "hypercytokinemic" (36.4%), and "inflammatory-injurious" (40.4%), with substantially differing mortality rates of 9.5%, 5.1%, and 26.4%, respectively. A 10-biomarker model accurately predicted these host response phenotypes in an external cohort with similar mortality distribution. The inflammatory-injurious phenotype showed a remarkable combination of relatively high inflammation and organ damage markers with high antiinflammatory cytokine levels yet low proinflammatory cytokine levels. <b>Conclusions:</b> Lymphopenia in COVID-19 signifies a heterogenous group of patients with distinct host response features. Specific host responses contribute to lymphopenia-associated mortality in COVID-19, including reduced CCL5 levels.