Inversed Ratio of CD39/CD73 Expression on γδ T Cells in HIV Versus Healthy Controls Correlates With Immune Activation and Disease Progression

The evaluation of CD39, CD73, and HIF-1 α expression besides their related miRNAs in PBMCs of women with recurrent pregnancy loss

The molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) are not completely recognized. The present study aimed to assess the molecules associated with ATP catabolism and hypoxia besides their related miRNAs in patients with RPL. The frequency of Th17 and Treg cells in PBMCs of RPL women and healthy pregnant women were evaluated with Flow cytometry. The expression levels of CD39, CD73, and Hypoxia-inducible factor-alpha (HIF-1α), miR-18a, miR-30a, and miR-206 in PBMCs of two groups were measured with real-time PCR and western blotting. Then, serum levels of IGF-1, TGF-β, and HIF-1α were measured by ELISA. Our results indicated a higher (p = 0.0002) and lower (p < 0.0001) frequency of Th17 and Treg lymphocytes in RPL women, respectively. The expression level of CD39 decreased in PBMCs of RPL women whereas the level of CD73 and HIF-α increased (p = 0.0010, 0.0023, 0.0006 respectively). The results of CD39 and CD37 were also confirmed by protein analysis (p = 0.0047, 0.0364 respectively). Almost, the same results for CD39 and CD73 expression at mRNA and protein levels were observed in isolated Treg cells. Moreover, we found the higher expression of miR-206 and miRNA-30a (p = 0.0038, 0.0123), but the lower expression of miRNA-18a (p = 0.0101) in RPL. The concentration level of IGF-1, and TGF-β reduced (p = 0.0017, 0.0065 respectively) while the level of HIF-α elevated (p = 0.0235) in serum samples of RPL. In conclusion, we observed the dysregulation of molecules that are involved in ATP catabolism and hypoxia, including CD39, CD73, and HIF-1a which is related to miR-18a, miR-30a, and miR-206 change in RPL women. It may be potentially used for RPL prognosis by more comprehensive future studies.

The Role of Cluster of Differentiation 39 (CD39) and Purinergic Signaling Pathway in Viral Infections

CD39 is a marker of immune cells such as lymphocytes and monocytes. The CD39/CD73 pathway hydrolyzes ATP into adenosine, which has a potent immunosuppressive effect. CD39 regulates the function of a variety of immunologic cells through the purinergic signaling pathways. CD39+ T cells have been implicated in viral infections, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), viral hepatitis, and Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections. The expression of CD39 is an indicator of lymphocyte exhaustion, which develops during chronicity. During RNA viral infections, the CD39 marker can profile the populations of CD4+ T lymphocytes into two populations, T-effector lymphocytes, and T-regulatory lymphocytes, where CD39 is predominantly expressed on the T-regulatory cells. The level of CD39 in T lymphocytes can predict the disease progression, antiviral immune responses, and the response to antiviral drugs. Besides, the percentage of CD39 and CD73 in B lymphocytes and monocytes can affect the status of viral infections. In this review, we investigate the impact of CD39 and CD39-expressing cells on viral infections and how the frequency and percentage of CD39+ immunologic cells determine disease prognosis.

High and Sustained Ex Vivo Frequency but Altered Phenotype of SARS-CoV-2-Specific CD4+ T-Cells in an Anti-CD20-Treated Patient with Prolonged COVID-19

Here, we longitudinally assessed the ex vivo frequency and phenotype of SARS-CoV-2 membrane protein (aa145-164) epitope-specific CD4+ T-cells of an anti-CD20-treated patient with prolonged viral positivity in direct comparison to an immunocompetent patient through an MHC class II DRB1*11:01 Tetramer analysis. We detected a high and stable SARS-CoV-2 membrane-specific CD4+ T-cell response in both patients, with higher frequencies of virus-specific CD4+ T-cells in the B-cell-depleted patient. However, we found an altered virus-specific CD4+ T-cell memory phenotype in the B-cell-depleted patient that was skewed towards late differentiated memory T-cells, as well as reduced frequencies of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T-cells with CD45RA- CXCR5+ PD-1+ circulating T follicular helper cell (cTFH) phenotype. Furthermore, we observed a delayed contraction of CD127- virus-specific effector cells. The expression of the co-inhibitory receptors TIGIT and LAG-3 fluctuated on the virus-specific CD4+ T-cells of the patient, but were associated with the inflammation markers IL-6 and CRP. Our findings indicate that, despite B-cell depletion and a lack of B-cell-T-cell interaction, a robust virus-specific CD4+ T-cell response can be primed that helps to control the viral replication, but which is not sufficient to fully abrogate the infection.