ABSTRACT
Genetic polymorphisms at the IFNL4 loci are known to influence the clinical outcome of several different infectious diseases. Best described is the association between the IFNL4 genotype and hepatitis C virus clearance. However, an influence of the IFNL4 genotype on the adaptive immune system was suggested by several studies but never investigated in humans. In this cross-sectional study, we have genotyped 201 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive participants for 3 IFNL4 polymorphisms (rs368234815, rs12979860, and rs117648444) and stratified them according to the IFNλ4 activity. Based on this stratification, we investigated the association between the IFNL4 genotype and the antibody as well as the CD8+ T cell response in the acute phase of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. We observed no differences in the genotype distribution compared with a Danish reference cohort or the 1,000 Genome Project, and we were not able to link the IFNL4 genotype to changes in either the antibody or CD8+ T cell responses of these patients.
Subject(s)
Adaptive Immunity/immunology , COVID-19/immunology , Interleukins/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , Adaptive Immunity/genetics , Adult , Aged , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Cohort Studies , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Genotype , Humans , Interleukins/genetics , Male , Middle Aged , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , Young AdultSubject(s)
Betacoronavirus/physiology , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Coronavirus Infections/immunology , Interferon-gamma/therapeutic use , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Pneumonia, Viral/immunology , COVID-19 , Humans , Immunity, Innate/immunology , Interferons/metabolism , Lung/immunology , Lung/virology , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Virus Replication/immunology , COVID-19 Drug TreatmentABSTRACT
With the first reports on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the scientific community working in the field of type III IFNs (IFN-λ) realized that this class of IFNs could play an important role in this and other emerging viral infections. In this Viewpoint, we present our opinion on the benefits and potential limitations of using IFN-λ to prevent, limit, and treat these dangerous viral infections.