Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are highly activated and functionally impaired in COVID-19 patients

Abstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), comprises mild courses of disease as well as progression to severe disease, characterised by lung and other organ failure. The immune system is considered to play a crucial role for the pathogenesis of COVID-19, although especially the contribution of innate-like T cells remains poorly understood. Here, we analysed the phenotype and function of mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, innate-like T cells with potent antimicrobial effector function, in patients with mild and severe COVID-19 by multicolour flow cytometry. Our data indicate that MAIT cells are highly activated in patients with COVID-19, irrespective of the course of disease, and express high levels of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-17A and TNFα ex vivo. Of note, expression of the activation marker HLA-DR positively correlated with SAPS II score, a measure of disease severity. Upon MAIT cell-specific in vitro stimulation, MAIT cells however failed to upregulate expression of the cytokines IL-17A and TNFα, as well as cytolytic proteins, that is, granzyme B and perforin. Thus, our data point towards an altered cytokine expression profile alongside an impaired antibacterial and antiviral function of MAIT cells in COVID-19 and thereby contribute to the understanding of COVID-19 immunopathogenesis

Angaben zum Objekt

• Standort: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Umfang: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: Englisch
• Anmerkungen: Viruses. - 13, 2 (2021) , 241, ISSN: 1999-4915

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wo): Freiburg
• (wer): Universität
• (wann): 2021
• Urheber: Deschler, Sebastian ; Kager, Juliane ; Erber, Johanna ; Fricke, Lisa ; Koyumdzhieva, Plamena ; Georgieva, Alexandra ; Lahmer, Tobias ; Wiessner, Johannes R. ; Voit, Florian ; Schneider, Jochen ; Horstmann, Julia ; Iakoubov, Roman ; Treiber, Matthias ; Winter, Christof Alexander ; Ruland, Jürgen Maximilian ; Busch, Dirk H. ; Knolle, Percy A. ; Protzer-Knolle, Ulrike ; Spinner, Christoph Daniel ; Schmid, Roland M. ; Quante, Michael ; Böttcher, Katrin

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: 10.3390/v13020241
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-1935483
• Rechteinformation: Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 15.08.2025, 07:24 MESZ