Session Type: ePosters
Session Title: ePosters
Authors(s): S. Caldrer, M. Bernardi, M. Prato, N. Ronzoni, P. Rodari, A. Angheben, C. Piubelli, N. Tiberti
Authors Affiliations(s): Department of Infectious – Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore - Don Calabria Hospital, Italy
Background:
The host immune response has been hypothesised to play a pivotal role in the progression and outcome of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, as already observed during the previous SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV pandemics. In particular, a dysregulation in lymphocyte sub-types and an over-production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, known as cytokine storm, have been proposed to be associated with a more severe clinical presentation. In the present project, we performed an immuno-phenotypic analysis of lymphocytes sub-populations in peripheral blood from Italian COVID-19 patients with different disease severity.
Methods:The immuno-phenotyping test was performed by flow cytometry on peripheral blood samples obtained from COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospital between March and May 2020. The studied population encompassed 60 patients, 35 of which were men and 25 were women, of 70 years of age in average, and classified as severe, moderate or mild based on clinical presentation and respiratory capacity (pO2/FiO2 ratio). The variation in the frequency of the different lymphocyte subpopulations in association with the disease severity was evaluated and the correlation between leukocyte phenotype and clinical data was performed.
Results:The immunophenotype analysis confirmed the association between the reduction in all lymphocyte sub-populations and the severity of the clinical presentation. Patients suffering from a severe form harboured significantly reduced circulating virus-specific (Th1) and regulatory T lymphocyte (Treg) populations. Furthermore, the phenotypic profile significantly correlated with clinical and biochemical parameters associated with the severity of SARS-CoV-2 disease. In particular, all T cell sub-populations, except for Th2, positively correlated with the pO2 / FiO2 ratio; while, all sub-populations negatively correlated with inflammation markers. The association between the levels of circulating Treg and clinical severity was further supported by a multivariate regression analysis.
Conclusions:The present study demonstrates the association between the immunophenotype and COVID-19 disease severity. Our observations suggest that the analysis of the patient's immunological structure at the time of diagnosis should be taken into account to allow a better clinical stratification and management of COVID-19 patients. More in depth investigations including circulating cytokines and the association with patients’ outcome will be performed to evaluate the clinical impact of the immonophenotype in COVID-19.
Keyword(s): COVID-19, Immunophenotype, T cellsCOI Other: This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health “Fondi Ricerca Corrente – L1P6” to IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital.
Session Type: ePosters
Session Title: ePosters
Authors(s): S. Caldrer, M. Bernardi, M. Prato, N. Ronzoni, P. Rodari, A. Angheben, C. Piubelli, N. Tiberti
Authors Affiliations(s): Department of Infectious – Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore - Don Calabria Hospital, Italy
Background:
The host immune response has been hypothesised to play a pivotal role in the progression and outcome of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, as already observed during the previous SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV pandemics. In particular, a dysregulation in lymphocyte sub-types and an over-production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, known as cytokine storm, have been proposed to be associated with a more severe clinical presentation. In the present project, we performed an immuno-phenotypic analysis of lymphocytes sub-populations in peripheral blood from Italian COVID-19 patients with different disease severity.
Methods:The immuno-phenotyping test was performed by flow cytometry on peripheral blood samples obtained from COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospital between March and May 2020. The studied population encompassed 60 patients, 35 of which were men and 25 were women, of 70 years of age in average, and classified as severe, moderate or mild based on clinical presentation and respiratory capacity (pO2/FiO2 ratio). The variation in the frequency of the different lymphocyte subpopulations in association with the disease severity was evaluated and the correlation between leukocyte phenotype and clinical data was performed.
Results:The immunophenotype analysis confirmed the association between the reduction in all lymphocyte sub-populations and the severity of the clinical presentation. Patients suffering from a severe form harboured significantly reduced circulating virus-specific (Th1) and regulatory T lymphocyte (Treg) populations. Furthermore, the phenotypic profile significantly correlated with clinical and biochemical parameters associated with the severity of SARS-CoV-2 disease. In particular, all T cell sub-populations, except for Th2, positively correlated with the pO2 / FiO2 ratio; while, all sub-populations negatively correlated with inflammation markers. The association between the levels of circulating Treg and clinical severity was further supported by a multivariate regression analysis.
Conclusions:The present study demonstrates the association between the immunophenotype and COVID-19 disease severity. Our observations suggest that the analysis of the patient's immunological structure at the time of diagnosis should be taken into account to allow a better clinical stratification and management of COVID-19 patients. More in depth investigations including circulating cytokines and the association with patients’ outcome will be performed to evaluate the clinical impact of the immonophenotype in COVID-19.
Keyword(s): COVID-19, Immunophenotype, T cellsCOI Other: This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health “Fondi Ricerca Corrente – L1P6” to IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital.