Academic Journal
SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces a differential monocyte activation that may contribute to age bias in COVID-19 severity
| Title: | SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces a differential monocyte activation that may contribute to age bias in COVID-19 severity |
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| Authors: | Ines Ait-Belkacem, Celia Cartagena García, Ewa Millet-Wallisky, Nicolas Izquierdo, Marie Loosveld, Isabelle Arnoux, Pierre-Emmanuel Morange, Franck Galland, Nathalie Lambert, Fabrice Malergue, Jean-Marc Busnel |
| Source: | Scientific Reports, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2022) |
| Publisher Information: | Nature Portfolio, 2022. |
| Publication Year: | 2022 |
| Collection: | LCC:Medicine LCC:Science |
| Subject Terms: | Medicine, Science |
| More Details: | Abstract A strong bias related to age is observed in COVID-19 patients with pediatric subjects developing a milder disease than adults. We hypothesized that a specific SARS-CoV-2 effect conjugated with preexisting differences in the immune systems may explain this. Using flow cytometry, we investigated basal immune differences in a cohort consisting of 16 non-infected young and 16 aged individuals and further leveraged an in vitro whole blood model of SARS-CoV-2 infection so that functional differences could be mined as well. In short, blood diluted in culture media was incubated 5 or 24 h with the trimeric spike protein or controls. Following unsupervised analysis, we first confirmed that the immune lymphoid and myeloid systems in adults are less efficient and prone to develop higher inflammation than those in children. We notably identified in adults a higher CD43 lymphocyte expression, known for its potentially inhibitory role. The spike protein induced different responses between adults and children, notably a higher increase of inflammatory markers together with lower monocyte and B cell activation in adults. Interestingly, CD169, a CD43 ligand overexpressed in COVID-19 patients, was confirmed to be strongly modulated by the spike protein. In conclusion, the spike protein exacerbated the preexisting lower immune responsiveness and higher inflammatory potential in adults. Altogether, some of the markers identified may explain the marked age bias and be predictive of severity. |
| Document Type: | article |
| File Description: | electronic resource |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| Relation: | https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-022-25259-2 |
| Access URL: | https://doaj.org/article/5817a8639f7c4885b19914f13da14b3a |
| Accession Number: | edsdoj.5817a8639f7c4885b19914f13da14b3a |
| Database: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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| ISSN: | 20452322 |
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| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-022-25259-2 |
| Published in: | Scientific Reports |
| Language: | English |