Single-cell immune profiling reveals distinct immune response in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients

Zhao, XN; You, Y; Cui, XM; Gao, HX; Wang, GL; Zhang, SB; Yao, L; Duan, LJ; Zhu, KL; Wang, YL; Li, L; Lu, JH; Wang, HB; Fan, JF; Zheng, HW; Dai, EH; Tian, LY; Ma, MJ

Author(s): Zhao, XN; You, Y; Cui, XM; Gao, HX; Wang, GL; Zhang, SB; Yao, L; Duan, LJ; Zhu, KL; Wang, YL; Li, L; Lu, JH; Wang, HB; Fan, JF; Zheng, HW; Dai, EH; Tian, LY; Ma, MJ;
Details: Publication Year 2021-09-16,Volume 6,Issue #1,Page 342
Journal Title: Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy
Abstract: While some individuals infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) present mild-to-severe disease, many SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals are asymptomatic. We sought to identify the distinction of immune response between asymptomatic and moderate patients. We performed single-cell transcriptome and T-cell/B-cell receptor (TCR/BCR) sequencing in 37 longitudinal collected peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples from asymptomatic, moderate, and severe patients with healthy controls. Asymptomatic patients displayed increased CD56(bri)CD16(-) natural killer (NK) cells and upregulation of interferon-gamma in effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells and NK cells. They showed more robust TCR clonal expansion, especially in effector CD4(+) T cells, but lack strong BCR clonal expansion compared to moderate patients. Moreover, asymptomatic patients have lower interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) expression in general but large interpatient variability, whereas moderate patients showed various magnitude and temporal dynamics of the ISGs expression across multiple cell populations but lower than a patient with severe disease. Our data provide evidence of different immune signatures to SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic infections.
Publisher: NPG
Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; *COVID-19/genetics/immunology; Carrier State/*immunology; Female; Humans; Lymphocytes/*immunology; Male; Middle Aged; Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell/genetics/immunology; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/genetics/immunology; SARS-CoV-2/genetics/*immunology; *Single-Cell Analysis; Transcriptome/*immunology
Research Division(s): Epigenetics And Development
PubMed ID: 34531370
Publisher's Version: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-021-00753-7
Open Access at Publisher's Site: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-021-00753-7
Terms of Use/Rights Notice: Refer to copyright notice on published article.

Creation Date: 2021-12-07 12:04:26

Last Modified: 2021-12-20 01:59:27