Characterization of IL-10 Family of Cytokines in Acute and Convalescent COVID-19 Individuals
Anuradha Rajamanickam, Pavan Kumar Nathella, Nandhini Selvaraj, Murhekar Manoj, Jeromie Wesley Vivian Thangaraj, Santhosh Kumar Muthusamy, Girish Kumar Chethrapilly Purushothaman, Tarun Bhatnagar, Manickam Ponnaiah, R. Sabarinathan, Saravanakumar Velusamy, Subash Babu
Abstract
Cytokines are major players in orchestrating inflammation, disease pathogenesis, and severity during COVID-19. Members of the interleukin (IL)-10 family of cytokines play important roles in regulating immune responses to various inflammatory and infectious diseases. However, the role of the IL-10 family of cytokines in COVID-19 remains elusive. Hence, we determined the plasma levels of the IL-10 family of cytokines (IL-10, IL-19, IL-20, IL-22, and IL-24) in 7 groups of COVID-19 individuals, based on days since real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our data show that the levels of IL-10, IL-19, IL-20, IL-22, and IL-24 cytokines decreased from days 15-30 to days 61-90 and plateaued thereafter. Severe COVID-19 patients exhibit increased plasma levels of IL-10, IL-19, IL-20, IL-22, and IL-24 compared to mild patients. Thus, our study provides evidence of alterations in the plasma levels of the IL-10 family of cytokines in convalescent COVID-19 individuals.