Project description:We retrospectively analysed the expression of 579 immunological genes in 60 COVID-19 subjects (SARS +ve) and 59 COVID-negative (SARS -ve) subjects using the NanoString nCounter (Immunology panel), a technology based on multiplexed single-molecule counting. Biobanked Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) samples underwent Nucleic Acid extraction and digital detection of mRNA to evaluate changes in antiviral gene expression between SARS -ve controls and patients with mild (SARS +ve Mild) and moderate/severe (SARS +ve Mod/Sev) disease.
Project description:The objective of this experiment was to compare the transcriptomic profile (NanoString platform) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from COVID-19 patients with mild disease, and patients with severe COVID-19 with and without dexamethasone treatment, and healthy controls. We analyzed PBMCs from 4 mild COVID patients, 3 severe COVID patients,4 severe COVID patients treated with dexamethasone, and 5 healthy controls
Project description:Protective immunity against COVID-19 likely depends on the production of SARS-CoV-2 binding plasma cells and memory B cells after infection or vaccination. Previous work has shown evidence that germinal center reactions, a critical component of the B cell response, are disrupted in severe COVID-19. This may adversely affect protective immunity from re-infection. Consistent with an extrafollicular B cell response, severe COVID-19 patients have large scale changes in B cell populations such as elevated frequencies of clonally expanded, class switched, unmutated plasmablasts. However, it is not clear whether mild or asymptomatically infected individuals show similar differences in B cell repertoires. Here, we use single cell RNA sequencing of B cells to show that, in contrast to hospitalized COVID-19 patients, mildly symptomatic COVID-19 subjects have B cell repertoires skewed towards clonally diverse, somatically hypermutated memory B cells approximately 30 days after the onset of symptoms. This provides evidence that B cell responses are less disrupted in mild COVID-19, and that the infection resolves with the production of memory B cells.
Project description:Protective immunity against COVID-19 likely depends on the production of SARS-CoV-2 binding plasma cells and memory B cells after infection or vaccination. Previous work has shown evidence that germinal center reactions, a critical component of the B cell response, are disrupted in severe COVID-19. This may adversely affect protective immunity from re-infection. Consistent with an extrafollicular B cell response, severe COVID-19 patients have large scale changes in B cell populations such as elevated frequencies of clonally expanded, class switched, unmutated plasmablasts. However, it is not clear whether mild or asymptomatically infected individuals show similar differences in B cell repertoires. Here, we use single cell RNA sequencing of B cells to show that, in contrast to hospitalized COVID-19 patients, mildly symptomatic COVID-19 subjects have B cell repertoires skewed towards clonally diverse, somatically hypermutated memory B cells approximately 30 days after the onset of symptoms. This provides evidence that B cell responses are less disrupted in mild COVID-19, and that the infection resolves with the production of memory B cells.
Project description:The SARS-CoV-2 infection elicits widespread immunological reactions and causes severe diseases in some individuals. However, the molecular basis behind the excessive, yet non-productive immune response in COVID-19 patients with severe diseases is not fully understood. Nor is it fully known of the molecular and cellular discrepancies between severe COVID-19 and sepsis caused by other infections. To gain systems-level insights into the pathogenesis of COVID-19, we compared the blood proteome and phosphoproteome of patients under intensive care with or without SARS-CoV-2 infection, and healthy control subjects by quantitative mass spectrometry. SARS-CoV-2 infection causes global reprogramming of the kinome and the phosphoproteome, resulting in incomplete adaptive immune responses mediated by B cells and T cells, compromised innate immune response via inhibitory SIGLEC and SLAM family receptor signaling, and excessive JAK/STAT signaling. Our work identifies the kinases CK2, SYK, JAK2/3, TYK2, and the cytokine IL-12 as potential targets for the immunomodulatory treatment of severe COVID-19 and provides a valuable resource for deciphering the mechanism of pathogen-host interactions.
Project description:Although most SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals experience mild COVID-19, some patients suffer from severe COVID-19, which is accompanied by acute respiratory distress syndrome and systemic inflammation. To identify factors driving severe progression of COVID-19, we performed single-cell RNA-seq using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from healthy donors, patients with mild or severe COVID-19, and patients with severe influenza. Patients with COVID-19 exhibited hyper-inflammatory signatures across all types of cells among PBMCs, particularly upregulation of the TNF/IL-1beta-driven inflammatory response as compared to severe influenza. In classical monocytes from patients with severe COVID-19, type I IFN response co-existed with the TNF/IL-1beta-driven inflammation, and this was not seen in patients with milder COVID-19 infection. Based on this, we propose that the type I IFN response exacerbates inflammation in patients with severe COVID-19 infection.
Project description:The immunological signatures driving COVID-19 severity in Ghanaians are not well understood. We, therefore, performed bulk transcriptome sequencing of nasopharyngeal samples from SARS-CoV-2-infected Ghanaians with mild and severe COVID-19 and healthy controls to characterize immune signatures at the primary SARS-CoV-2 infection site and identified drivers of disease severity. Generally, a heightened antiviral response was observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected Ghanaians compared with uninfected controls. COVID-19 severity was associated with a dysregulated inflammatory response occasioned by overexpression of IL1A, S100A7, CRNN, and IL23A proinflammatory cytokines and hyperactivation of the NF-κB pathway through MAL signaling. SAMD9L was also among the differentially regulated interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) in our mild and severe disease cohorts, suggesting that it may be playing a critical role in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. We noted differences in antiviral gene expression by comparing our data with a publicly available dataset from a non-African (Indians) (GSE166530) cohort. Overall, the study identifies immune signatures driving COVID-19 severity in Ghanaians that could serve as potential prognostic markers. It further provides preliminary evidence suggesting differences in antiviral response at the upper respiratory interface in sub-Saharan Africans (Ghanaians) and non-Africans (Indians), which could be contributing to the differences in disease outcomes. Further studies using a larger dataset from different populations will expand on these findings. Keywords: Nasopharyngeal swab, SARS-Cov-2, RNA-Seq, Ghanaians, immunological signatures
Project description:In order to identify differentially abundant proteins, human plasma samples from COVID-19 patients with either a mild or moderate (MM) or a critical or severe (CS) disease course from acute phase of infection were analyzed on antibody microarrays 998 different proteins by 1,425 antibodies.
Project description:In order to identify differentially abundant proteins, human plasma samples from COVID-19 patients with either a mild or moderate (MM) or a critical or severe (CS) disease course from the acute phases of infection were analyzed on antibody microarrays targeting 351 different proteins by 517 antibodies.