Transcriptomic analysis of COVID‑19 lungs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples reveals predominant B cell activation responses to infection
Eugenio Cavalli, Maria Cristina Petralia, Maria Sofia Basile, Alessia Bramanti, Placido Bramanti, Ferdinando Nicoletti, Demetrios�� Spandidos, Yehuda Shoenfeld, Paolo Fagone
Abstract
The outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease (named, COVID‑19), caused by the novel SARS‑CoV‑2 virus, represents a worldwide severe threat to public health. It is of the utmost importance to characterize the immune responses against the SARS‑CoV‑2 and the mechanisms of hyperinflammation, in order to design better therapeutic strategies for COVID‑19. In the present study, a transcriptomic analysis was performed to profile the immune signatures in lung and the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from COVID‑19 patients and controls. Our data concordantly revealed increased humoral responses to infection. The elucidation of the host responses to SARS‑CoV‑2 infection may further improve our understanding of COVID‑19 pathogenesis and suggest better therapeutic strategies.