Project description:Multi-omics single-cell profiling of surface proteins, gene expression and lymphocyte immune receptors from hospitalised COVID-19 patient peripheral blood immune cells and healthy controls donors. Identification of the coordinated immune cell compositional and state changes in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection or LPS challenge, compared to healthy control immune cells.
Project description:In this prospective observational cohort study, we found transcriptional evidence that persistent immune dysfunction was associated with 28-day mortality in both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 septic patients. COVID-19 patients had an early antiviral response but became indistinguishable on a gene expression level from non-COVID-19 sepsis patients a week later. Early treatment of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 sepsis ICU patients should focus on pathogen control, but both patient groups also require novel immunomodulatory treatments, particularly later during ICU hospitalization, independent of admission diagnosis. Some T1 samples were uploaded in GSE185263 and were not re-uploaded in this series.
Project description:The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is associated with secondary bacterial and fungal infections globally. In India, inappropriate use of glucocorticoids, high prevalence of diabetes mellitus and a conducive environment for fungal growth are considered as the main factors for increased incidence of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM). Few cases of CAM without steroid abuse and normal blood glucose levels were also reported during the pandemic. This study was designed to explore whether altered immune responses due to severe COVID-19 infection predisposes towards development of mucormycosis. The global transcriptome profiling of monocytes and granulocytic cells derived from CAM, Mucormycosis, COVID-19 and healthy control groups were performed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in dysregulated host immune response towards respective diseased and healthy conditions.
Project description:Blood collected from adults pre vaccination and post vaccination to study the immune effects of COVID-19 vaccination and how they relate to antibody and T-cell responses.
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has reached 5.5 million deaths worldwide, causing a huge impact globally. This highly contagious viral infection produces a severe acute respiratory syndrome that includes cough, mucus, fever and pneumonia. Likewise, many hospitalized patients develop severe pneumonia associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), besides an exacerbated and uncontrolled systemic inflammation which in some cases induce lethal cytokine storm. Although vaccines have clearly had a beneficial effect on disease development, there is still a high percentage of patients who develop pathology related to ineffective immune system response. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the modulatory mechanisms that regulate the response to SARS-CoV-2 is crucial to find effective therapeutic alternatives. Previous studies describe the relevance of Neddylation in immune system activation further its implications in viral infection. In this context, the present study postulates Neddylation, a reversible ubiquitin-like post-translational modification of proteins and controls their stability, localization and activity, as a key regulator in the immune response against SARS-CoV-2. For the first time, we describe an increase of serum global neddylation levels of COVID-19 patients particularly associated in the early response of the infection. In addition, the results showed that overactivation of neddylation control activation, proliferation, and response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from COVID-19 patients. Inhibition of neddylation and subsequent avoidance of activation of PBMCs, which reduces cytokine production and proteome modulation, may therefore be a critical mechanism and an efficient therapeutic approach to immunomodulate COVID -19 patients and avoid the much-feared cytokine storm.
Project description:The inflammatory response to SARS-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is thought to underpin COVID-19 pathogenesis. We conducted daily transcriptomic profiling of three COVID-19 cases and found that the early immune response in COVID-19 patients is highly dynamic. Patient throat swabs were tested daily for SARS-CoV-2, with the virus persisting for 3 to 4 weeks in all three patients. Cytokine analyses of whole blood revealed increased cytokine expression in the single most severe case. However, most inflammatory gene expression peaked after respiratory function nadir, except expression in the IL1 pathway. Parallel analyses of CD4 and CD8 expression suggested that the pro-inflammatory response may be intertwined with T cell activation that could exacerbate disease or prolong the infection. Collectively, these findings hint at the possibility that IL1 and related pro-inflammatory pathways may be prognostic and serve as therapeutic targets for COVID-19. This work may also guide future studies to illuminate COVID-19 pathogenesis and develop host-directed therapies.
Project description:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a global pandemic for more than 2 years and it still impacts our daily lifestyle and quality in unprecedented ways. A better understanding of immunity and its regulation in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection is urgently needed. Based on the current literature, we review here the various virus mutations and the evolving disease manifestations along with the alterations of immune responses with specific focuses on the innate immune response, neutrophil extracellular traps, humoral immunity, and cellular immunity. Different types of vaccines were compared and analyzed based on their unique properties to elicit specific immunity. Various therapeutic strategies such as antibody, anti-viral medications and inflammation control were discussed. We predict that with the available and continuously emerging new technologies, more powerful vaccines and administration schedules, more effective medications and better public health measures, the COVID-19 pandemic will be under control in the near future.
Project description:We sought to define the host immune response, a.k.a, the “cytokine storm” that has been implicated in fatal COVID-19 using an AI-based approach. Over 45,000 publicly available transcriptomic datasets of viral pandemics were analyzed to extract a 166-gene signature using ACE2 as a ‘seed’ gene; ACE2 was rationalized because the receptor it encodes enables the virus that causes Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, to enter host cells. The signature was surprisingly conserved in all viral pandemics, including COVID-19, inspiring the nomenclature ViP-signature. A subset of 20-genes classified disease severity in respiratory pandemics. The ViP signatures pinpointed airway epithelial and myeloid cells as the major contributors of an IL-15 cytokine storm, and epithelial and NK cell destruction as determinants of severity/fatality. They also helped formulate precise therapeutic goals to reduce disease symptoms and severity. Thus, the ViP signatures provide a quantitative and qualitative framework for titrating the immune response in viral pandemics and may serve as a powerful unbiased tool in our armamentarium to rapidly assess disease severity and vet candidate drugs.
Project description:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, has been associated with neurological and neuropsychiatric illness in many individuals. We sought to further our understanding of the relationship between brain tropism, neuro-inflammation and host immune response in acute COVID-19 cases. 3 brain regions (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, medulla oblongata and choroid plexus) from 5 patients with severe COVID-19 and 4 controls were examined. The presence of virus was assessed by western blot against viral spike protein, as well as viral transcriptome analysis covering >99% of SARS-CoV-2 genome and all potential serotypes. Droplet-based single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) was performed in the same samples to examine the impact of COVID-19 on transcription in individual cells of the brain. Quantification of viral spike S1 protein and viral transcripts did not detect SARS-CoV-2 in the postmortem brain tissue. However, analysis of 68,557 single-nucleus transcriptomes from three distinct regions of the brain identified an increased proportion of stromal cells, monocytes and macrophages in the choroid plexus of COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, differential gene expression, pseudo-temporal trajectory and gene regulatory network analyses revealed transcriptional changes in cortical microglia associated with a range of biological processes, including cellular activation, mobility and phagocytosis. Despite the absence of detectable SARS-CoV-2 in the brain at time of death, the findings suggest significant and persistent neuroinflammation in patients with acute COVID-19.
Project description:We sought to define the host immune response, a.k.a, the “cytokine storm” that has been implicated in fatal COVID-19 using an AI-based approach. Over 45,000 publicly available transcriptomic datasets of viral pandemics were analyzed to extract a 166-gene signature using ACE2 as a ‘seed’ gene; ACE2 was rationalized because the receptor it encodes enables the virus that causes Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, to enter host cells. The signature was surprisingly conserved in all viral pandemics, including COVID-19, inspiring the nomenclature ViP-signature. A subset of 20-genes classified disease severity in respiratory pandemics. The ViP signatures pinpointed airway epithelial and myeloid cells as the major contributors of an IL-15 cytokine storm, and epithelial and NK cell destruction as determinants of severity/fatality. They also helped formulate precise therapeutic goals to reduce disease symptoms and severity. Thus, the ViP signatures provide a quantitative and qualitative framework for titrating the immune response in viral pandemics and may serve as a powerful unbiased tool in our armamentarium to rapidly assess disease severity and vet candidate drugs.