NK Cell Subpopulations and Receptor Expression in Recovering SARS-CoV-2 Infection.
Mol Neurobiol
; 58(12): 6111-6120, 2021 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1375838
ABSTRACT
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Whereas in most cases COVID-19 is asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic, extremely severe clinical forms are observed. In this case, complex immune dysregulations and an excessive inflammatory response are reported and are the main cause of morbidity and mortality. Natural killer cells are key players in the control of viral infection, and their activity is regulated by a tight balance between activating and inhibitory receptors; an alteration of NK activity was suggested to be associated with the development of severe forms of COVID-19. In this study, we analyzed peripheral NK cell subpopulations and the expression of activating and inhibitory receptors in 30 patients suffering from neurological conditions who recovered from mild, moderate, or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, comparing the results to those of 10 SARS-CoV-2-uninfected patients. Results showed that an expansion of NK subset with lower cytolytic activity and an augmented expression of the 2DL1 inhibitory receptor, particularly when in association with the C2 ligand (KIR2DL1-C2), characterized the immunological scenario of severe COVID-19 infection. An increase of NK expressing the ILT2 inhibitory receptor was instead seen in patients recovering from mild or moderate infection compared to controls. Results herein suggest that the KIR2DL1-C2 NK inhibitory complex is a risk factor toward the development of severe form of COVID-19. Our results confirm that a complex alteration of NK activity is present in COVID-19 infection and offer a molecular explanation for this observation.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Killer Cells, Natural
/
Receptors, KIR
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Mol Neurobiol
Journal subject:
Molecular Biology
/
Neurology
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12035-021-02517-4
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