Potential Role of the Galectin-9/TIM-3 Axis in the Disparate Progression of SARS-CoV-2 in a Married Couple: A Case Report
Alejandro Martín‐Quirós, Charbel Maroun‐Eid, José Avendaño‐Ortiz, Roberto Lozano‐Rodríguez, Jaime Valentín Quiroga, Verónica Terrón, Karla Montalbán‐Hernández, Miguel Ángel García, Elena Muñoz del Val, Álvaro del Balzo‐Castillo, Carolina Rubio, Carolina Cubillos‐Zapata, Luis A. Aguirre, Eduardo López‐Collazo
Abstract
We report the disparate clinical progression of a couple infected by SARS-CoV-2 based on their immune checkpoint (IC) levels and immune cell distribution in blood from admission to exitus in patient 1 and from admission to discharge and recovery in patient 2. A detailed clinical follow-up accompanied by a longitudinal analysis of immune phenotypes and IC levels is shown. The continuous increase in the soluble IC ligand galectin-9 (Gal-9) and the increment in T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing 3 (TIM-3) protein in T cells in patient 1 suggests an activation of the Gal-9/TIM-3 axis and, subsequently, a potential cell exhaustion in this patient that did not occur in patient 2. Our data indicate that the Gal-9/TIM-3 axis could be a potential target in this clinical setting, along with a patent effector memory T-cell reduction.