Deficiency of Tfh Cells and Germinal Center in Deceased COVID-19 Patients.
Curr Med Sci
; 40(4): 618-624, 2020 Aug.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-695581
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV2 is characterized by a remarkable variation in clinical severity ranging from a mild illness to a fatal multi-organ disease. Understanding the dysregulated human immune responses in the fatal subjects is critical for management of COVID-19 patients and the pandemic. In this study, we examined the immune cell compositions in the lung tissues and hilar lymph nodes using immunohistochemistry on 6 deceased COVID-19 patients and 4 focal organizing pneumonia (FOP) patients who underwent lung surgery and served as controls. We found a dominant presence of macrophages and a general deficiency of T cells and B cells in the lung tissues from deceased COVID-19 patients. In contrast to the FOP patients, Tfh cells and germinal center formation were largely absent in the draining hilar lymph nodes in the deceased COVID-19 patients. This was correlated with reduced IgM and IgG levels compared to convalescent COVID-19 patients. In summary, our data highlight a defect of germinal center structure in deceased COVID-19 patients leading to an impaired humoral immunity. Understanding the mechanisms of this deficiency will be one of the key points for the management of this epidemic.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Germinal Center
/
Betacoronavirus
Type of study:
Case report
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Curr Med Sci
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S11596-020-2225-x
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