Open AccessNaturally activated adaptive immunity in COVID‐19 patients
Author(s) -
Yang Xiaofeng,
Dai Tongxin,
Zhou Xiaobo,
Qian Hongbo,
Guo Rui,
Lei Lei,
Zhang Xingzhe,
Zhang Dan,
Shi Lin,
Cheng Yanbin,
Hu Jinsong,
Guo Yaling,
Zhang Baojun
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of cellular and molecular medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.44
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1582-4934
pISSN - 1582-1838
DOI - 10.1111/jcmm.15771
Subject(s) - immune system , acquired immune system , immunology , cd8 , immunity , germinal center , coronavirus , biology , lymphocyte , cellular immunity , covid-19 , t cell , medicine , b cell , disease , antibody , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) has rapidly spread worldwide, threatening the health and lives of many people. Unfortunately, information regarding the immunological characteristics of COVID‐19 patients remains limited. Herein, we collected blood samples from 18 healthy donors (HDs) and 38 COVID‐19 patients to analyse changes in the adaptive immune cell populations and their phenotypes. We observed that the lymphocyte percentage moderately decreased, CD4 and CD8 T cell percentage among lymphocytes were similar, and B cell percentage was increased in COVID‐19 patients in comparison to that in HDs. T cells, especially CD8 T cells, showed an enhanced expression of late activation marker CD25 and exhaustion marker PD‐1. Importantly, SARS‐CoV‐2 infection increased the percentage of T follicular helper– and germinal centre B–like cells in the blood. The parameters in COVID‐19 patients remained unchanged across various age groups. Therefore, we demonstrated that the T and B cells are activated naturally and are functional during SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. These data provide evidence that the adaptive immunity in most patients could be primed to induce a significant immune response against SARS‐CoV‐2 infection upon receiving standard medical care.