Immune modulation as a consequence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Erroneous immune responses in COVID-19 could have detrimental effects, which makes investigation of immune network underlying COVID-19 pathogenesis a requisite. This study aimed to investigate COVID-19 related alterations within the frame of innate and adaptive immunity. Thirty-four patients clinically diagnosed with mild, moderate and severe COVID-19 disease were enrolled in this study. Decreased ILC1 and increased ILC2 subsets were detected in mild and moderate patients compared to healthy controls. NK cell subsets and cytotoxic capacity of NK cells were decreased in severe patients. Moreover, CD3+ T cells were reduced in severe patients and a negative correlation was found between CD3+ T cells and D-dimer levels. Likewise, moderate and severe patients showed diminished CD3+CD8+ T cells. Unlike T and NK cells, plasmablast and plasma cells were elevated in patients and IgG and IgA levels were particularly increased in severe patients. Severe patients also showed elevated serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8, reduced intracellular IFN-γ and increased intracellular IL-10 levels. Our findings emphasize that SARS-CoV-2 infection significantly alters immune responses and innate and acquired immunity are differentially modulated in line with the clinical severity of the disease. Elevation of IL-10 levels in NK cells and reduction of CD3+ and CD8+ T cells in severe patients might be considered as a protective response against the harmful effect of cytokine storm seen in COVID-19.

Decline of humoral immune responses after natural SARS-CoV-2 infection can be efficiently reversed by vaccination.

Our aim was to analyze severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific antibody level kinetics after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and determine the efficiency of vaccination on SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody levels. The study included 50 SARS-CoV-2 infected and 70 uninfected cases. Levels of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG nucleocapsid protein (IgG-NP), IgG spike protein (IgG-SP), IgM nucleocapsid protein (IgM-NP), and IgA spike protein (IgA-SP) antibodies were evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in sera obtained at baseline, 1st, 3rd, and 6th month follow-up visits for infected cases and at postvaccination visits for all cases. In symptomatic cases (n = 50), IgG-SP levels were decreased in 6 months compared with baseline, while IgA-SP levels were significantly increased. IgG-NP levels were significantly decreased in symptomatic cases at the 6-month visit. After vaccination, IgG-SP levels were increased in symptomatic cases compared with prevaccination levels. Among subjects vaccinated with CoronaVac (the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine), infected cases had approximately double the IgG-SP level of uninfected cases. SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody levels were higher at the baseline in symptomatic cases. Nevertheless, all infected cases showed significantly reduced IgG-SP levels at the 6th month. Vaccination effectively increased IgG-SP levels.

Notch4 signaling limits regulatory T-cell-mediated tissue repair and promotes severe lung inflammation in viral infections.

A cardinal feature of COVID-19 is lung inflammation and respiratory failure. In a prospective multi-country cohort of COVID-19 patients, we found that increased Notch4 expression on circulating regulatory T (Treg) cells was associated with disease severity, predicted mortality, and declined upon recovery. Deletion of Notch4 in Treg cells or therapy with anti-Notch4 antibodies in conventional and humanized mice normalized the dysregulated innate immunity and rescued disease morbidity and mortality induced by a synthetic analog of viral RNA or by influenza H1N1 virus. Mechanistically, Notch4 suppressed the induction by interleukin-18 of amphiregulin, a cytokine necessary for tissue repair. Protection by Notch4 inhibition was recapitulated by therapy with Amphiregulin and, reciprocally, abrogated by its antagonism. Amphiregulin declined in COVID-19 subjects as a function of disease severity and Notch4 expression. Thus, Notch4 expression on Treg cells dynamically restrains amphiregulin-dependent tissue repair to promote severe lung inflammation, with therapeutic implications for COVID-19 and related infections.