Impact of an Immune Modulator Mycobacterium-w on Adaptive Natural Killer Cells and Protection Against COVID-19.
Front Immunol
; 13: 887230, 2022.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1862611
ABSTRACT
The kinetics of NKG2C+ adaptive natural killer (ANK) cells and NKG2A+inhibitory NK (iNK) cells with respect to the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection were studied for 6 months in a cohort of healthcare workers following the administration of the heat-killed Mycobacterium w (Mw group) in comparison to a control group. In both groups, corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) correlated with lower NKG2C+ANK cells at baseline. There was a significant upregulation of NKG2C expression and IFN-γ release in the Mw group (p=0.0009), particularly in those with a lower baseline NKG2C expression, along with the downregulation of iNK cells (p<0.0001). This translated to a significant reduction in the incidence and severity of COVID-19 in the Mw group (incidence risk ratio-0.15, p=0.0004). RNA-seq analysis at 6 months showed an upregulation of the ANK pathway genes and an enhanced ANK-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) signature. Thus, Mw was observed to have a salutary impact on the ANK cell profile and a long-term upregulation of ANK-ADCC pathways, which could have provided protection against COVID-19 in a non-immune high-risk population.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Mycobacterium
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Front Immunol
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Fimmu.2022.887230
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