Infectious Disease Horizontal Technology Center, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Immunos, Biopolis, 138648, Singapore.
Singapore Immunology Network, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Immunos, Biopolis, 138648, Singapore.
Nat Commun. 2020 Oct 16;11(1):5243. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19080-6.
SARS-CoV-2 is the novel coronavirus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic. Severe complications are observed only in a small proportion of infected patients but the cellular mechanisms underlying this progression are still unknown. Comprehensive flow cytometry of whole blood samples from 54 COVID-19 patients reveals a dramatic increase in the number of immature neutrophils. This increase strongly correlates with disease severity and is associated with elevated IL-6 and IP-10 levels, two key players in the cytokine storm. The most pronounced decrease in cell counts is observed for CD8 T-cells and VD2 γδ T-cells, which both exhibit increased differentiation and activation. ROC analysis reveals that the count ratio of immature neutrophils to VD2 (or CD8) T-cells predicts pneumonia onset (0.9071) as well as hypoxia onset (0.8908) with high sensitivity and specificity. It would thus be a useful prognostic marker for preventive patient management and improved healthcare resource management.
SARS-CoV-2 是导致当前 COVID-19 大流行的新型冠状病毒。只有一小部分感染患者会出现严重并发症，但导致这种进展的细胞机制仍不清楚。对 54 名 COVID-19 患者的全血样本进行全面流式细胞术分析显示，不成熟中性粒细胞的数量急剧增加。这种增加与疾病的严重程度密切相关，并与升高的 IL-6 和 IP-10 水平相关，这两种水平都是细胞因子风暴的关键因素。CD8 T 细胞和 VD2 γδ T 细胞的细胞计数下降最为明显，这两种细胞都表现出分化和激活的增加。ROC 分析表明，不成熟中性粒细胞与 VD2（或 CD8）T 细胞的计数比值可预测肺炎发作（0.9071）和缺氧发作（0.8908），具有高灵敏度和特异性。因此，它将是一种有用的预后标志物，用于预防性的患者管理和改善医疗资源管理。
