ABSTRACT
Here we report the identification of human CD66b-CD64dimCD115- neutrophil-committed progenitor cells (NCPs) within the SSCloCD45dimCD34+ and CD34dim/- subsets in the bone marrow. NCPs were either CD45RA+ or CD45RA-, and in vitro experiments showed that CD45RA acquisition was not mandatory for their maturation process. NCPs exclusively generated human CD66b+ neutrophils in both in vitro differentiation and in vivo adoptive transfer experiments. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis indicated NCPs fell into four clusters, characterized by different maturation stages and distributed along two differentiation routes. One of the clusters was characterized by an interferon-stimulated gene signature, consistent with the reported expansion of peripheral mature neutrophil subsets that express interferon-stimulated genes in diseased individuals. Finally, comparison of transcriptomic and phenotypic profiles indicated NCPs represented earlier neutrophil precursors than the previously described early neutrophil progenitors (eNePs), proNeus and COVID-19 proNeus. Altogether, our data shed light on the very early phases of neutrophil ontogeny.
Subject(s)
Antigens, CD , Bone Marrow , Cell Adhesion Molecules , Cell Differentiation , Neutrophils , Receptor, Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor , Receptors, IgG , Bone Marrow Cells , COVID-19 , GPI-Linked Proteins , Humans , Interferons , Neutrophils/cytologyABSTRACT
The inflammatory and IFN pathways of innate immunity play a key role in the resistance and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Innate sensors and SARS-CoV-2-associated molecular patterns (SAMPs) remain to be completely defined. Here, we identified single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) fragments from the SARS-CoV-2 genome as direct activators of endosomal TLR7/8 and MyD88 pathway. The same sequences induced human DC activation in terms of phenotype and function, such as IFN and cytokine production and Th1 polarization. A bioinformatic scan of the viral genome identified several hundreds of fragments potentially activating TLR7/8, suggesting that products of virus endosomal processing potently activate the IFN and inflammatory responses downstream of these receptors. In vivo, SAMPs induced MyD88-dependent lung inflammation characterized by accumulation of proinflammatory and cytotoxic mediators and immune cell infiltration, as well as splenic DC phenotypical maturation. These results identified TLR7/8 as a crucial cellular sensor of ssRNAs encoded by SARS-CoV-2 involved in host resistance and the disease pathogenesis of COVID-19.