Clinical and Immunological Factors That Distinguish COVID-19 From Pandemic Influenza A(H1N1)
José Alberto Choreño-Parra, Luis Jiménez-Álvarez, Alfredo Cruz‐Lagunas, Tatiana Sofia Rodrı́guez-Reyna, Gustavo Ramírez-Martínez, Montserrat Sandoval-Vega, Diana Lizzeth Hernández-García, Eduardo M. Choreño‐Parra, Yalbi Itzel Balderas-Martínez, Mariana Esther Martínez-Sánchez, Eduardo Márquez-García, Edda Sciutto, José Moreno, José Omar Barreto-Rodríguez, Hazel Vázquez-Rojas, Gustavo I. Centeno-Saenz, Néstor Alvarado-Peña, Citlaltepetl Salinas‐Lara, Carlos Sánchez-Garibay, David Galeana-Cadena, Gabriela Hernández, Criselda Mendoza-Milla, Andrea Domínguez, Julio Granados, Lula Mena-Hernández, Luis Ángel Pérez-Buenfil, Guillermo Domínguez-Cheritt, Carlos Cabello-Gutiérrez, César Luna-Rivero, Jorge Salas‐Hernandez, Patricio Santillán‐Doherty, Justino Regalado, Angélica Martínez‐Hernández, Lorena Orozco, Federico Ávila‐Moreno, Ethel Garcı́a-Latorre, Carmen Margarita Hernández‐Cardenas, Shabaana A. Khader, Albert Zlotnik, Joaquı́n Zúñiga
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a global health threat with the potential to cause severe disease manifestations in the lungs. Although COVID-19 has been extensively characterized clinically, the factors distinguishing SARS-CoV-2 from other respiratory viruses are unknown. Here, we compared the clinical, histopathological, and immunological characteristics of patients with COVID-19 and pandemic influenza A(H1N1). We observed a higher frequency of respiratory symptoms, increased tissue injury markers, and a histological pattern of alveolar pneumonia in pandemic influenza A(H1N1) patients. Conversely, dry cough, gastrointestinal symptoms and interstitial lung pathology were observed in COVID-19 cases. Pandemic influenza A(H1N1) was characterized by higher levels of IL-1RA, TNF-α, CCL3, G-CSF, APRIL, sTNF-R1, sTNF-R2, sCD30, and sCD163. Meanwhile, COVID-19 displayed an immune profile distinguished by increased Th1 (IL-12, IFN-γ) and Th2 (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13) cytokine levels, along with IL-1β, IL-6, CCL11, VEGF, TWEAK, TSLP, MMP-1, and MMP-3. Our data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 induces a dysbalanced polyfunctional inflammatory response that is different from the immune response against pandemic influenza A(H1N1). Furthermore, we demonstrated the diagnostic potential of some clinical and immune factors to differentiate both diseases. These findings might be relevant for the ongoing and future influenza seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, which are historically unique due to their convergence with the COVID-19 pandemic.