Central and effector memory T cells in peripheral blood of patients with interstitial pneumonia: preliminary clues from a COVID-19 study
Bekbossynova M. Akhmaltdinova L. Dossybayeva K. Tauekelova A. Smagulova Z. Tsechoeva T. Turebayeva G. Sailybayeva A. Kalila Z. Mirashirova T. Muratov T. Poddighe D.
December 2022BioMed Central Ltd
Respiratory Research
2022#23Issue 1
Background: SARS-CoV-2 pre-existing T-cell immune reactivity can be present in some people. A general perturbation of the main peripheral lymphocyte subsets has been described in severe COVID-19 patients, but very few studies assessed the general memory T-cell homeostasis in the acute phase of COVID-19. Here, we performed a general analysis of the main memory T cell populations in the peripheral blood of patients admitted to the hospital for a confirmed or probable COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, adult patients (aged ≥ 18 years) needing hospital admission for respiratory disease due to confirmed or probable COVID-19, were recruited before starting the therapeutic protocol for this disease. In addition to the assessment of the general lymphocyte subpopulations in the early phase of COVID-19, central memory T cells (Tmcentr cells: CD45RO+CCR7+) and effector memory T cells (Tmeff cells: CD45RO+CCR7−) were assessed by multi-color flow cytometry, in comparison to a control group. Results: During the study period, 148 study participants were recruited. Among them, 58 patients turned out positive for SARS-CoV-2 PCR (including both patients with interstitial pneumonia [PCR+Pn+] and without this complication [PCR+Pn−]), whereas the remaining 90 patients resulted to be SARS-CoV-2 PCR negative, even though all were affected with interstitial pneumonia [PCR−Pn+]. Additionally, 28 control patients without any ongoing respiratory disease were recruited. A clear unbalance in the T memory compartment emerged from this analysis on the whole pool of T cells (CD3+ cells), showing a significant increase in Tmcentr cells and, conversely, a significant decrease in Tmeff cells in both pneumonia groups (PCR+Pn+ and PCR−Pn+) compared to the controls; PCR+Pn− group showed trends comprised between patients with pneumonia (from one side) and the control group (from the other side). This perturbation inside the memory T cell compartment was also observed in the individual analysis of the four main T cell subpopulations, based upon the differential expression of CD4 and/or CD8 markers. Conclusion: Overall, we observed both absolute and relative increases of Tmcentr cells and decrease of Tmeff cells in patients affected with interstitial pneumonia (regardless of the positive or negative results of SARS-CoV-2 PCR), compared to controls. These results need confirmation from additional research, in order to consider this finding as a potential biological marker of interstitial lung involvement in patients affected with viral respiratory infections.
Central memory T cells , COVID-19 , Effector memory T cells , Interstitial pneumonia , Lymphocyte subpopulations , Memory T cells , SARS-CoV-2
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National Research Cardiac Surgery Center, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
Nazarbayev University School of Medicine (NUSOM), Kerei-Zhanibek Str. 5/1, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
City Infectious Disease Center at Multidisciplinary Medical Center, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
Department of Public Health of Nur‑Sultan City, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
University Medical Center (UMC), Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
National Research Cardiac Surgery Center
Nazarbayev University School of Medicine (NUSOM)
City Infectious Disease Center at Multidisciplinary Medical Center
Department of Public Health of Nur‑Sultan City
University Medical Center (UMC)
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