Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Nizwa, Oman.
Biomedical Research Center, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Front Immunol. 2022 Mar 31;13:870283. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.870283. eCollection 2022.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2. During T-cell activation, the immune system uses different checkpoint pathways to maintain co-inhibitory and co-stimulatory signals. In COVID-19, expression of immune checkpoints (ICs) is one of the most important manifestations, in addition to lymphopenia and inflammatory cytokines, contributing to worse clinical outcomes. There is a controversy whether upregulation of ICs in COVID-19 patients might lead to T-cell exhaustion or activation. This review summarizes the available studies that investigated IC receptors and ligands in COVID-19 patients, as well as their effect on T-cell function. Several IC receptors and ligands, including CTLA-4, BTLA, TIM-3, VISTA, LAG-3, TIGIT, PD-1, CD160, 2B4, NKG2A, Galectin-9, Galectin-3, PD-L1, PD-L2, LSECtin, and CD112, were upregulated in COVID-19 patients. Based on the available studies, there is a possible relationship between disease severity and increased expression of IC receptors and ligands. Overall, the upregulation of some ICs could be used as a prognostic biomarker for disease severity.
新型冠状病毒病(COVID-19)由严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 型(SARS-CoV-2)引起。在 T 细胞激活过程中,免疫系统利用不同的检查点途径来维持共抑制和共刺激信号。在 COVID-19 中,免疫检查点(ICs)的表达是除淋巴细胞减少和炎症细胞因子外最重要的表现之一,导致临床结局恶化。免疫检查点(ICs)在 COVID-19 患者中的上调是否会导致 T 细胞耗竭或激活存在争议。本综述总结了目前研究 COVID-19 患者中 IC 受体和配体的相关研究,以及它们对 T 细胞功能的影响。几种 IC 受体和配体,包括细胞毒性 T 淋巴细胞相关抗原 4(CTLA-4)、B 和 T 淋巴细胞衰减因子(BTLA)、T 细胞免疫球蛋白黏蛋白 3(TIM-3)、血管生成素相关蛋白(VISTA)、淋巴细胞激活基因 3(LAG-3)、T 细胞免疫球蛋白和 ITIM 结构域蛋白(TIGIT)、程序性死亡受体 1(PD-1)、CD160、2B4、自然杀伤细胞免疫球蛋白样受体 2A(NKG2A)、半乳糖凝集素 9(Galectin-9)、半乳糖凝集素 3(Galectin-3)、程序性死亡配体 1(PD-L1)、PD-L2、L 选择素细胞内黏附分子(LSECtin)和 CD112,在 COVID-19 患者中上调。根据现有研究,疾病严重程度与 IC 受体和配体表达增加之间可能存在一定的关系。总体而言,一些 IC 的上调可作为疾病严重程度的预后生物标志物。