Pre-activated antiviral innate immunity in the upper airways controls early SARS-CoV-2 infection in children.
Nat Biotechnol
; 40(3): 319-324, 2022 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1364597
ABSTRACT
Children have reduced severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection rates and a substantially lower risk for developing severe coronavirus disease 2019 compared with adults. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying protection in younger age groups remain unknown. Here we characterize the single-cell transcriptional landscape in the upper airways of SARS-CoV-2-negative (n = 18) and age-matched SARS-CoV-2-positive (n = 24) children and corresponding samples from adults (n = 44), covering an age range of 4 weeks to 77 years. Children displayed higher basal expression of relevant pattern recognition receptors such as MDA5 (IFIH1) and RIG-I (DDX58) in upper airway epithelial cells, macrophages and dendritic cells, resulting in stronger innate antiviral responses upon SARS-CoV-2 infection than in adults. We further detected distinct immune cell subpopulations including KLRC1 (NKG2A)+ cytotoxic T cells and a CD8+ T cell population with a memory phenotype occurring predominantly in children. Our study provides evidence that the airway immune cells of children are primed for virus sensing, resulting in a stronger early innate antiviral response to SARS-CoV-2 infection than in adults.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bronchi
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
/
Immunity, Innate
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
Nat Biotechnol
Journal subject:
Biotechnology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41587-021-01037-9
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