Vaivode Kristīne, Saksis Rihards, Litvina Helēna Daiga, Niedra Helvijs, Spriņģe Marta Līva, Krūmiņa Una, Kloviņš Jānis, Rovite Vita
Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, LV-1067 Riga, Latvia.
Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2024 Jan 2;46(1):461-468. doi: 10.3390/cimb46010029.
Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of SARS-CoV-2 have been extensively researched. While much is already known about the acute phase of the infection, increasing attention has turned to the prolonged symptoms experienced by a subset of individuals, commonly referred to as long COVID-19 patients. This study aims to delve deeper into the immune landscape of patients with prolonged symptoms by implementing single-cell mRNA analysis. A 71-year-old COVID-19 patient presenting with persistent viral pneumonia was recruited, and peripheral blood samples were taken at 3 and 2 years post-acute infection onset. Patients and control peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and single-cell sequenced. Immune cell population identification was carried out using the ScType script. Three months post-COVID-19 patients' PBMCs contained a significantly larger immature neutrophil population compared to 2-year and control samples. However, the neutrophil balance shifted towards a more mature profile after 18 months. In addition, a notable increase in the CD8+ NKT-like cells could be observed in the 3-month patient sample as compared to the later one and control. The subsequent change in these cell populations over time may be an indicator of an ongoing failure to clear the SARS-CoV-2 infection and, thus, lead to chronic COVID-19 complications.
自新冠疫情出现以来，严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的影响已得到广泛研究。虽然对于感染急性期已经了解很多，但越来越多的关注转向了一部分个体所经历的长期症状，这些个体通常被称为新冠长期症状患者。本研究旨在通过实施单细胞mRNA分析，更深入地探究有长期症状患者的免疫格局。招募了一名患有持续性病毒性肺炎的71岁新冠患者，并在急性感染发病后3年和2年采集外周血样本。分离患者和对照的外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）并进行单细胞测序。使用ScType脚本进行免疫细胞群体鉴定。与2年时的样本和对照相比，新冠患者的PBMC在感染后3个月含有明显更多的未成熟中性粒细胞群体。然而，18个月后中性粒细胞平衡转向更成熟的状态。此外，与后期样本和对照相比，在3个月的患者样本中可观察到CD8+ NKT样细胞显著增加。这些细胞群体随时间的后续变化可能是无法清除SARS-CoV-2感染并因此导致慢性新冠并发症的一个指标。
