Telomere-length dependent T-cell clonal expansion: A model linking ageing to COVID-19 T-cell lymphopenia and mortality.
EBioMedicine
; 78: 103978, 2022 Apr.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1768041
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Severe COVID-19 T-cell lymphopenia is more common among older adults and entails poor prognosis. Offsetting the decline in T-cell count during COVID-19 demands fast and massive T-cell clonal expansion, which is telomere length (TL)-dependent.METHODS:
We developed a model of TL-dependent T-cell clonal expansion capacity with age and virtually examined the relation of T-cell clonal expansion with COVID-19 mortality in the general population.FINDINGS:
The model shows that an individual with average hematopoietic cell TL (HCTL) at age twenty years maintains maximal T-cell clonal expansion capacity until the 6th decade of life when this capacity rapidly declines by more than 90% over the next ten years. The collapse in the T-cell clonal expansion capacity coincides with the steep increase in COVID-19 mortality with age.INTERPRETATION:
Short HCTL might increase vulnerability of many older adults, and some younger individuals with inherently short HCTL, to COVID-19 T-cell lymphopenia and severe disease.FUNDING:
A full list of funding bodies that contributed to this study can be found in the Acknowledgements section.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Lymphopenia
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Humans
/
Young adult
Language:
English
Journal:
EBioMedicine
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS