COVID-19 后肺纤维化患者循环细胞中 AIM2 受体的激活与白细胞介素 1α、干扰素-α 和转化生长因子-β 的释放有关。
Activation of the AIM2 Receptor in Circulating Cells of Post-COVID-19 Patients With Signs of Lung Fibrosis Is Associated With the Release of IL-1α, IFN-α and TGF-β.
机构信息
Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy.
Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy.
出版信息
Front Immunol. 2022 Jun 29;13:934264. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.934264. eCollection 2022.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for COVID-19, has caused a global pandemic. Observational studies revealed a condition, herein called as Long-COVID syndrome (PC), that affects both moderately and severely infected patients, reducing quality-of-life. The mechanism/s underlying the onset of fibrotic-like changes in PC are still not well defined. The goal of this study was to understand the involvement of the Absent in melanoma-2 (AIM2) inflammasome in PC-associated lung fibrosis-like changes revealed by chest CT scans. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from PC patients who did not develop signs of lung fibrosis were not responsive to AIM2 activation by Poly dA:dT. In sharp contrast, PBMCs from PC patients with signs of lung fibrosis were highly responsive to AIM2 activation, which induced the release of IL-1α, IFN-α and TGF-β. The recognition of Poly dA:dT was not due to the activation of cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase, a stimulator of interferon response (cGAS-STING) pathways, implying a role for AIM2 in PC conditions. The release of IFN-α was caspase-1- and caspase-4-dependent when AIM2 was triggered. Instead, the release of pro-inflammatory IL-1α and pro-fibrogenic TGF-β were inflammasome independent because the inhibition of caspase-1 and caspase-4 did not alter the levels of the two cytokines. Moreover, the responsiveness of AIM2 correlated with higher expression of the receptor in circulating CD14+ cells in PBMCs from patients with signs of lung fibrosis.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2(SARS-CoV-2)是导致 COVID-19 的病原体,引发了全球性大流行。观察性研究揭示了一种病症,即本文所称的长新冠综合征(PC),它影响到中度和重度感染的患者,降低了生活质量。PC 中纤维化样改变的发病机制仍未得到很好的定义。本研究的目的是了解 Absent in melanoma-2(AIM2)炎症小体在 PC 相关的肺纤维化样改变中的作用,这些改变可通过胸部 CT 扫描观察到。从未出现肺部纤维化迹象的 PC 患者中获得的外周血单核细胞(PBMCs)对 Poly dA:dT 激活 AIM2 没有反应。相比之下,有肺部纤维化迹象的 PC 患者的 PBMCs 对 AIM2 激活反应强烈,这诱导了白细胞介素-1α、干扰素-α和转化生长因子-β的释放。Poly dA:dT 的识别不是由于环鸟苷酸-腺苷酸(cGAMP)合酶的激活,cGAMP 合酶是干扰素反应(cGAS-STING)途径的一种刺激物,这意味着 AIM2 在 PC 状态中发挥作用。当触发 AIM2 时,干扰素-α的释放依赖于半胱氨酸蛋白酶-1 和半胱氨酸蛋白酶-4。相反,促炎白细胞介素-1α和促纤维化转化生长因子-β的释放与炎症小体无关,因为抑制半胱氨酸蛋白酶-1 和半胱氨酸蛋白酶-4 不会改变这两种细胞因子的水平。此外,AIM2 的反应性与循环 CD14+细胞中受体的高表达相关,这些细胞来自于有肺部纤维化迹象的患者的 PBMCs 中。