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Rizvi ZA, Sadhu S, Dandotiya J, Sharma P, Binayke A, Singh V, Das V, Khatri R, Kumar R, Samal S, Kalia M, Awasthi A. SARS-CoV-2 infection induces thymic atrophy mediated by IFN-γ in hACE2 transgenic mice. Eur J Immunol 2024:e2350624. [PMID: 38655818 DOI: 10.1002/eji.202350624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Pathogenic infections cause thymic atrophy, perturb thymic T-cell development, and alter immunological response. Previous studies reported dysregulated T-cell function and lymphopenia in coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). However, immunopathological changes in the thymus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have not been elucidated. Here, we report that SARS-CoV-2 infects thymocytes, and induces CD4+CD8+ (double positive; DP) T-cell apoptosis leading to thymic atrophy and loss of peripheral TCR repertoire in K18-hACE2 transgenic mice. Infected thymus led to increased CD44+CD25- T-cells, indicating an early arrest in the T-cell maturation pathway. Thymic atrophy was notably higher in male hACE2-Tg mice than in females and involved an upregulated de-novo synthesis pathway of thymic glucocorticoid. Further, IFN-γ was crucial for thymic atrophy, as anti-IFN-γ -antibody neutralization blunted thymic involution. Therapeutic use of Remdesivir also rescued thymic atrophy. While the Omicron variant and its sub-lineage BA.5 variant caused marginal thymic atrophy, the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 exhibited severe thymic atrophy characterized by severely depleted DP T-cells. Recently characterized broadly SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing monoclonal antibody P4A2 was able to rescue thymic atrophy and restore the thymic maturation pathway of T-cells. Together, we report SARS-CoV-2-associated thymic atrophy resulting from impaired T-cell maturation pathway which may contribute to dyregulated T cell response during COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaigham Abbas Rizvi
- Immuno-biology Lab, Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Immunology-Core Lab, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Srikanth Sadhu
- Immuno-biology Lab, Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Immunology-Core Lab, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Jyotsna Dandotiya
- Immuno-biology Lab, Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Immunology-Core Lab, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Puja Sharma
- Regional Centre Biotechnology, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Akshay Binayke
- Immuno-biology Lab, Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Immunology-Core Lab, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Virendra Singh
- Immuno-biology Lab, Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Immunology-Core Lab, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Vinayaka Das
- Immuno-biology Lab, Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Immunology-Core Lab, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Ritika Khatri
- Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Rajesh Kumar
- Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Sweety Samal
- Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Manjula Kalia
- Regional Centre Biotechnology, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Amit Awasthi
- Immuno-biology Lab, Infection and Immunology Centre, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
- Immunology-Core Lab, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, NCR-Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, Haryana, India
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Abstract
Influenza viruses are one of the leading causes of respiratory tract infections in humans and their newly emerging and re-emerging virus strains are responsible for seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics, leading to a serious threat to global public health systems. The poor clinical outcome and pathogenesis during influenza virus infection in humans and animal models are often associated with elevated proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines production, which is also known as hypercytokinemia or "cytokine storm", that precedes acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and often leads to death. Although we still do not fully understand the complex nature of cytokine storms, the use of immunomodulatory drugs is a promising approach for treating hypercytokinemia induced by an acute viral infection, including highly pathogenic avian influenza virus infection and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This review aims to discuss the immune responses and cytokine storm pathology induced by influenza virus infection and also summarize alternative experimental strategies for treating hypercytokinemia caused by influenza virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanhua Wei
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Conservation and Utilization of Special Biological Resources in Western China, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.,College of Agriculture, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Chengjiang Gao
- Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity of Shandong Province & Department of Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Yujiong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Conservation and Utilization of Special Biological Resources in Western China, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.,College of Life Science, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
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Elfaki Y, Yang J, Boehme J, Schultz K, Bruder D, Falk CS, Huehn J, Floess S. Tbx21 and Foxp3 Are Epigenetically Stabilized in T-Bet + Tregs That Transiently Accumulate in Influenza A Virus-Infected Lungs. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22147522. [PMID: 34299148 PMCID: PMC8307036 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22147522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
During influenza A virus (IAV) infections, CD4+ T cell responses within infected lungs mainly involve T helper 1 (Th1) and regulatory T cells (Tregs). Th1-mediated responses favor the co-expression of T-box transcription factor 21 (T-bet) in Foxp3+ Tregs, enabling the efficient Treg control of Th1 responses in infected tissues. So far, the exact accumulation kinetics of T cell subsets in the lungs and lung-draining lymph nodes (dLN) of IAV-infected mice is incompletely understood, and the epigenetic signature of Tregs accumulating in infected lungs has not been investigated. Here, we report that the total T cell and the two-step Treg accumulation in IAV-infected lungs is transient, whereas the change in the ratio of CD4+ to CD8+ T cells is more durable. Within lungs, the frequency of Tregs co-expressing T-bet is steadily, yet transiently, increasing with a peak at Day 7 post-infection. Interestingly, T-bet+ Tregs accumulating in IAV-infected lungs displayed a strongly demethylated Tbx21 locus, similarly as in T-bet+ conventional T cells, and a fully demethylated Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR) within the Foxp3 locus. In summary, our data suggest that T-bet+ but not T-bet- Tregs are epigenetically stabilized during IAV-induced infection in the lung.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yassin Elfaki
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (Y.E.); (J.Y.)
| | - Juhao Yang
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (Y.E.); (J.Y.)
| | - Julia Boehme
- Immune Regulation Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (J.B.); (K.S.); (D.B.)
| | - Kristin Schultz
- Immune Regulation Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (J.B.); (K.S.); (D.B.)
| | - Dunja Bruder
- Immune Regulation Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (J.B.); (K.S.); (D.B.)
- Infection Immunology Group, Institute of Medical Microbiology, Infection Control and Prevention, Health Campus Immunology, Infectiology and Inflammation, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Christine S. Falk
- Institute of Transplant Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany;
- German Center for Infection Research DZIF, Thematical Translation Unit-Immunocompromized Host (TTU-IICH), Hannover-Braunschweig Site, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Jochen Huehn
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (Y.E.); (J.Y.)
- Cluster of Excellence RESIST (EXC 2155), Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
- Correspondence: (J.H.); (S.F.)
| | - Stefan Floess
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (Y.E.); (J.Y.)
- Correspondence: (J.H.); (S.F.)
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Modeling the Dynamics of T-Cell Development in the Thymus. ENTROPY 2021; 23:e23040437. [PMID: 33918050 PMCID: PMC8069328 DOI: 10.3390/e23040437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The thymus hosts the development of a specific type of adaptive immune cells called T cells. T cells orchestrate the adaptive immune response through recognition of antigen by the highly variable T-cell receptor (TCR). T-cell development is a tightly coordinated process comprising lineage commitment, somatic recombination of Tcr gene loci and selection for functional, but non-self-reactive TCRs, all interspersed with massive proliferation and cell death. Thus, the thymus produces a pool of T cells throughout life capable of responding to virtually any exogenous attack while preserving the body through self-tolerance. The thymus has been of considerable interest to both immunologists and theoretical biologists due to its multi-scale quantitative properties, bridging molecular binding, population dynamics and polyclonal repertoire specificity. Here, we review experimental strategies aimed at revealing quantitative and dynamic properties of T-cell development and how they have been implemented in mathematical modeling strategies that were reported to help understand the flexible dynamics of the highly dividing and dying thymic cell populations. Furthermore, we summarize the current challenges to estimating in vivo cellular dynamics and to reaching a next-generation multi-scale picture of T-cell development.
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