IL-33 expression in response to SARS-CoV-2 correlates with seropositivity in COVID-19 convalescent individuals.
Michal A StanczakDavid E SaninPetya ApostolovaGabriele NerzDimitrios LampakiMaike HofmannDaniel SteinmannMarvin Krohn-GrimbergheRobert ThimmeGerhard MittlerCornelius F WallerEdward J PearceErika L PearcePublished in: Nature communications (2021)
Our understanding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still developing. We perform an observational study to investigate seroprevalence and immune responses in subjects professionally exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and their family members (155 individuals; ages 5-79 years). Seropositivity for SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein aligns with PCR results that confirm the previous infection. Anti-Spike IgG/IgM titers remain high 60 days post-infection and do not strongly associate with symptoms, except for fever. We analyze PBMCs from a subset of seropositive and seronegative adults. TLR7 agonist-activation reveals an increased population of IL-6+TNF-IL-1β+ monocytes, while SARS-CoV-2 peptide stimulation elicits IL-33, IL-6, IFNa2, and IL-23 expression in seropositive individuals. IL-33 correlates with CD4+ T cell activation in PBMCs from convalescent subjects and is likely due to T cell-mediated effects on IL-33-producing cells. IL-33 is associated with pulmonary infection and chronic diseases like asthma and COPD, but its role in COVID-19 is unknown. Analysis of published scRNAseq data of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from patients with mild to severe COVID-19 reveals a population of IL-33-producing cells that increases with the disease. Together these findings show that IL-33 production is linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection and warrant further investigation of IL-33 in COVID-19 pathogenesis and immunity.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- coronavirus disease
- immune response
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- induced apoptosis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- randomized controlled trial
- early onset
- machine learning
- depressive symptoms
- pulmonary hypertension
- toll like receptor
- oxidative stress
- inflammatory response
- systematic review
- cell proliferation
- air pollution
- deep learning
- peripheral blood
- cell cycle arrest
- nuclear factor