In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 17, No. 8 ( 2022-8-18), p. e0273186-
Abstract:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a recently identified virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease is a pandemic. Although the hallmarks of severe COVID-19 have been established, the underlying mechanisms that promote severe pathology have not been thoroughly studied. A better understanding of the immune response in severe COVID-19 patients may help guide the development of therapeutic strategies and predict immuno-pathogenicity. This study was set to determine the lymphocyte and cytokine profiles associated with COVID-19 severity. A total of 43 hospitalised COVID-19 patients were recruited for the study and whole blood samples were drawn from each patient. Complete blood counts, lymphocyte subset profiles and C-reactive protein statuses of patients were determined. Cytometric bead array was performed to analyse the cytokine profiles of each patient. The demographic characteristics showed that the median age of the patients was 48.72 years, with an interquartile range from 40 to 60 years, and 69.77% of the patients were male. COVID-19 patients exhibited significantly low CD4 + lymphocyte expansion and leucocytosis augmented by elevated neutrophil and immature granulocytes. Stratification analysis revealed that reduced monocytes and elevated basophils and immature granulocytes are implicated in severe pathology. Additionally, cytokine results were noted to have significant incidences of interleukin 17A (IL-17A) expression associated with severe disease. Results from this study suggest that a systemic neutrophilic environment may preferentially skew CD4 + lymphocytes towards T-helper 17 and IL-17A promotion, thus, aggravating inflammation. Consequently, results from this study suggest broad activity immunomodulation and targeting neutrophils and blocking IL-17 production as therapeutic strategies against severe COVID-19.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.g001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.g002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.g003
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10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.g004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.t001
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10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.t002
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10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.t003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.t004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.t005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s007
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s008
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s009
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.s010
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.r001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.r002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.r003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0273186.r004
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
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