Identification of Distinct Immune Cell Subsets Associated With Asymptomatic Infection, Disease Severity, and Viral Persistence in COVID-19 Patients
Xiaorui Wang, Han Bai, Junpeng Ma, Hongyu Qin, Qiqi Zeng, Fang Hu, Tingting Jiang, Weikang Mao, Yang Zhao, Xiaobei Chen, Xin Qi, Mengyang Li, Jiao Xu, Jingcan Hao, Yankui Wang, Xi Ding, Yuanrui Liu, Tianlong Huang, Chao Fang, Changli Ge, Li Dong, Ke Hu, Xianwen Ren, Baojun Zhang, Baojun Zhang, Binghong Zhang, Binghong Zhang, Bingyin Shi, Chengsheng Zhang
Abstract
The cell-mediated protective and pathogenic immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection remain largely elusive. Here we identified 76 distinct cell subsets in the PBMC samples that were associated with various clinical presentations of COVID-19 using scRNA-seq technology coupled with a deep and comprehensive analysis of unique cell surface markers and differentially expressed genes. We revealed that (TRAV1-2 + CD8 + )MAIT cells and (NCAM1 hi CD160 + )NK cells significantly enriched in the asymptomatic subjects whereas (LAG3 + CD160 + CD8 + )NKT cells increased in the symptomatic patients. We also observed that (CD68 - CSF1R - IL1B hi CD14 + )classical monocytes were positively correlated with the disease severity. Moreover, (CD33 - HLA-DMA - CD14 + )classical monocytes and (CLEC10A - S100A9 lo )pDC were associated with the viral persistence. The GO and KEGG analyses identified enriched pathways related to immune responses, inflammation, and apoptosis. These findings may enhance our understanding of the immunopathogenesis of COVID-19 and help develop novel strategies against SARS-CoV-2 infection.