Longitudinal transcriptome analyses show robust T cell immunity during recovery from COVID-19.

Abstract

Understanding the processes of immune regulation in patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is crucial for improving treatment. Here, we performed longitudinal whole-transcriptome RNA sequencing on peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples from 18 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during their treatment, convalescence, and rehabilitation. After analyzing the regulatory networks of differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) between the different clinical stages, we found that humoral immunity and type I interferon response were significantly downregulated, while robust T-cell activation and differentiation at the whole transcriptome level constituted the main events that occurred during recovery from COVID-19. The formation of this T cell immune response might be driven by the activation of activating protein-1 (AP-1) related signaling pathway and was weakly affected by other clinical features. These findings uncovered the dynamic pattern of immune responses and indicated the key role of T cell immunity in the creation of immune protection against this disease.

• Authors: Hong-Yi Zheng, Min Xu, Cui-Xian Yang, Ren-Rong Tian, Mi Zhang, Jian-Jian Li, Xi-Cheng Wang, Zhao-Li Ding, Gui-Mei Li, Xiao-Lu Li, Yu-Qi He, Xing-Qi Dong, Yong-Gang Yao, Yong-Tang Zheng
• Journal: Signal transduction and targeted therapy (Signal Transduct Target Ther) Vol. 5 Issue 1 Pg. 294 (12 24 2020) ISSN: 2059-3635 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 33361761 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• MicroRNAs
• RNA, Long Noncoding
• Transcription Factor AP-1

Topics

• COVID-19 (epidemiology, genetics, pathology)
• Female
• Humans
• Immunity, Humoral (genetics, immunology)
• Leukocytes, Mononuclear (metabolism)
• Male
• MicroRNAs
• RNA, Long Noncoding (genetics)
• RNA-Seq
• SARS-CoV-2 (genetics, pathogenicity)
• T-Lymphocytes (immunology, metabolism, pathology)
• Transcription Factor AP-1 (genetics)
• Transcriptome (genetics)