RESUMO
Post-COVID syndrome develops in 10-20% of people who have recovered from COVID-19 and it is characterized by impaired function of the nervous, cardiovascular, and immune systems. Previously, it was found that patients who recovered from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus had a decrease in the number and functional activity of NK cells. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of recombinant human IL-2 (rhIL-2) administered to correct NK cell phenotype and functional activity in patients with post-COVID syndrome. Patients were examined after 3 months for acute COVID-19 of varying severity. The phenotype of the peripheral blood NK cells was studied by flow cytometry. It was found that disturbances in the cell subset composition in patients with post-COVID syndrome were characterized by low levels of mature (p = 0.001) and cytotoxic NK cells (p = 0.013), with increased release of immature NK cells (p = 0.023). Functional deficiency of NK cells in post-COVID syndrome was characterized by lowered cytotoxic activity due to the decreased count of CD57+ (p = 0.001) and CD8+ (p < 0.001) NK cells. In the treatment of patients with post-COVID syndrome with recombinant IL-2, peripheral blood NK cell count and functional potential were restored. In general, the effectiveness of using rhIL-2 in treatment of post-COVID syndrome has been proven in patients with low levels of NK cells.
RESUMO
Th cells may exhibit pathological activity depending on the regulatory and functional signals sensed under a wide range of immunopathological conditions, including ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The relationship between Th cells and cytokines is important for diagnoses and for determining treatment. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Th-cell subset composition and serum cytokine profile for patients with activity-driven AS. In our study, patients were divided into two groups according to disease activity: low-activity AS (ASDAS-CRP < 2.1) and high-activity AS (ASDAS-CRP > 2.1). The peripheral blood Th cell subset composition was studied by flow cytometry. Using multiplex analysis, serum cytokine levels were quantified and investigated. It was found that only patients with high-activity AS had reduced central memory (CM) Th1 cells (p = 0.035) but elevated numbers of CM (p = 0.014) and effector memory (EM) Th2 cells (p < 0.001). However, no activity-driven change in the Th17 cell subset composition was observed in AS patients. Moreover, low-AS activity patients had increased numbers of Tfh17 EM cells (p < 0.001), whereas high-AS activity was associated with elevated Tfh2 EM level (p = 0.031). The serum cytokine profiles in AS patients demonstrated that cues stimulating cellular immunity were increased, but patients with high-AS activity reveled increased IL-5 level (p = 0.017). Analyzing the data obtained from AS patients allowed us to conclude that Th cell subset differentiation was mainly affected during the CM stage and characterized the IL-23/IL-17 regulatory axis, whereas increased humoral immunity was observed in the high-AS activity group.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: T and B cell-mediated immunity can be assessed using T cell receptor excision circle (TREC) and Kappa-deleting recombination excision circle (KREC) analysis, respectively, and successful implementation of this method requires evaluation of the correlation between the TREC frequencies and T cell subsets as well as KREC levels and B lymphocyte subsets. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between the TREC/KREC concentrations and T/B lymphocyte subsets at different stages of COVID-19. METHODS: We examined 33 patients in the acute stage of COVID-19 (including 8 patients with poor outcomes) and 33 COVID-19 survivors. TREC/KREC concentrations were measured using quantitative real-time PCR. T/B lymphocyte subsets were determined using flow cytometry. RESULTS: Blood TREC and KREC levels were found to be significantly lower in the acute stage of COVID-19 compared to control values. Moreover, a zero blood TREC level was a predictor of a poor disease outcome. Reductions in CD3+CD4+CD45RO-CD62L- and CD3+CD8+CD45RO-CD62L- T cell counts (as well as in the main fractions of B1 and B2 B cells) indicated a favorable outcome in COVID-19 patients in the acute stage of the disease. Decreased CD3+CD4+CD45RO-CD62L+ and CD3+CD8+CD45RO-CD62L+ T cell frequencies and increased CD3+CD8+CD45RO-CD62L- cell counts were found to indicate a poor outcome in patients with acute COVID-19. These patients were also found to have increased B1 cell counts while demonstrating no changes in B2 cell counts. The levels of effector T cell subsets an naïve B cells were normal in COVID-19 survivors. The most pronounced correlations between TREC/KREC levels and T/B cell subsets counts were observed in COVID-19 survivors: there were positive correlations with naïve T and B lymphocytes and negative correlations with central and effector memory T cell subsets. CONCLUSIONS: The assessment of correlations between TREC and T cell subsets as well as KREC levels and B cell subset counts in patients with acute COVID-19 and COVID-19 survivors has shown that blood concentrations of TREC and KREC are sensitive indicators of the stage of antigen-independent differentiation of adaptive immunity cells. The results of the TREC and KREC analysis correlated with the stages of COVID-19 and differed depending on the outcome of COVID-19.
Assuntos
Subpopulações de Linfócitos B , COVID-19 , Linfócitos B , DNA , Humanos , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos TRESUMO
Sensitivity to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is important in the treatment of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Patients were divided into ASA sensitive (sASA) and ASA resistant (rASA) by the activity of platelet aggregation induced arachidonic acid (ARA) together with ASA. Induced platelet aggregation activity was studied in sASA and rASA patients with CHD before and after CABG. The level of synthesis of primary and secondary reactive oxygen species (ROS) by platelets was determined using chemiluminescent analysis. The activity of NAD- and NADP-dependent dehydrogenases in platelets was determined by the bioluminescent method. It was found that the aggregation activity of platelets depended on the sensitivity of CHD patients to ASA and decreased during postoperative ASA therapy. The most pronounced differences in metabolic parameters of platelets in sASA and rASA patients were detected by Nox2 activity. The synthesis of secondary ROS by platelets of CHD patients did not depend on the sensitivity of patients to ASA but increased during postoperative treatment with ASA. The activity of NAD(P)-dependent dehydrogenases in platelets did not differ in sASA and rASA patients with CHD.
