Asymptomatic COVID-19: disease tolerance with efficient anti-viral immunity against SARS-CoV-2.
Yi-Hao ChanSiew-Wai FongChek-Meng PohGuillaume CarissimoNicholas Kim-Wah YeoSiti Naqiah AmrunYun Shan GohJackwee LimWeili XuRhonda Sin-Ling CheeAnthony Torres-RuestaCheryl Yi-Pin LeeMatthew Zirui TayZi Wei ChangWen-Hsin Sandy LeeBei WangSeow Yen TanShirin KalimuddinBarnaby Edward YoungYee Sin LeoCheng-I WangBernett Teck Kwong LeeOlaf RotzschkeDavid Chien Boon LyeShanshan W HowlandLisa F P NgPublished in: EMBO molecular medicine (2021)
The immune responses and mechanisms limiting symptom progression in asymptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection remain unclear. We comprehensively characterized transcriptomic profiles, cytokine responses, neutralization capacity of antibodies, and cellular immune phenotypes of asymptomatic patients with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection to identify potential protective mechanisms. Compared to symptomatic patients, asymptomatic patients had higher counts of mature neutrophils and lower proportion of CD169+ expressing monocytes in the peripheral blood. Systemic levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were also lower in asymptomatic patients, accompanied by milder pro-inflammatory gene signatures. Mechanistically, a more robust systemic Th2 cell signature with a higher level of virus-specific Th17 cells and a weaker yet sufficient neutralizing antibody profile against SARS-CoV-2 was observed in asymptomatic patients. In addition, asymptomatic COVID-19 patients had higher systemic levels of growth factors that are associated with cellular repair. Together, the data suggest that asymptomatic patients mount less pro-inflammatory and more protective immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 indicative of disease tolerance. Insights from this study highlight key immune pathways that could serve as therapeutic targets to prevent disease progression in COVID-19.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- end stage renal disease
- ejection fraction
- newly diagnosed
- chronic kidney disease
- immune response
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- peripheral blood
- prognostic factors
- peritoneal dialysis
- genome wide
- signaling pathway
- cell proliferation
- dendritic cells
- dna methylation
- climate change
- inflammatory response
- risk assessment
- toll like receptor
- cell death
- transcription factor
- human health
- pi k akt
- cell cycle arrest