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Aiello A, Grossi A, Meschi S, Meledandri M, Vanini V, Petrone L, Casetti R, Cuzzi G, Salmi A, Altera AM, Pierelli L, Gualano G, Ascoli Bartoli T, Castilletti C, Agrati C, Girardi E, Palmieri F, Nicastri E, Di Rosa E, Goletti D. Coordinated innate and T-cell immune responses in mild COVID-19 patients from household contacts of COVID-19 cases during the first pandemic wave. Front Immunol 2022; 13:920227. [PMID: 35967321 PMCID: PMC9364317 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.920227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective To better define the immunopathogenesis of COVID-19, the present study aims to characterize the early immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection in household contacts of COVID-19 cases. In particular, innate, T- and B-cell specific responses were evaluated over time. Methods Household contacts of COVID-19 cases screened for SARS−CoV−2 infection by nasopharyngeal swab for surveillance purposes were enrolled (T0, n=42). Of these, 28 subjects returned for a follow-up test (T1). The innate response was assessed by detecting a panel of soluble factors by multiplex-technology in plasma samples. Cell-mediated response was evaluated by measuring interferon (IFN)-γ levels by ELISA in plasma harvested from whole-blood stimulated with SARS−CoV−2 peptide pools, including spike (S), nucleocapsid (N) and membrane (M) proteins. The serological response was assessed by quantifying anti-Receptor-Binding-Domain (RBD), anti-Nucleocapsid (N), whole virus indirect immunofluorescence, and neutralizing antibodies. Results At T0, higher levels of plasmatic IFN-α, IL-1ra, MCP-1 and IP-10, and lower levels of IL-1β, IL-9, MIP-1β and RANTES were observed in subjects with positive swab compared to individuals with a negative one (p<0.05). Plasmatic IFN-α was the only cytokine detectable in subjects with positive SARS-CoV-2 swabs with high accuracy for swab score positivity (0.93, p<0.0001). Among subjects with positive swabs, significant negative correlations were found among the RT-PCR cycle threshold values reported for genes S and N and IFN-α or IP-10 levels. At T0, the IFN-γ T-cell specific response was detected in 50% (5/10) of subjects with positive swab, while anti-RBD/anti-N antibodies showed a positivity rate of 10% (1/10). At T1, the IFN-γ T-cell specific response was detected in most of the confirmed-infection subjects (77.8%, 7/9), whereas the serological response was still observed in a minority of them (44.4%, 4/9). Overall, the swab test showed a moderate concordance with the T-cell response (78.6%, k=0.467), and a scarce concordance with the serological one (72.9%, k=0.194). Conclusions Plasmatic IFN-α and the IFN-γ T-cell specific response appear early even in the absence of seroconversion, and show a greater positivity rate than the serological response in household contacts with positive swab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Aiello
- Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Adriano Grossi
- Local Public Health Office, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Roma 1, Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Meschi
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Marcello Meledandri
- Unità Operativa Complessa (UOC) Microbiology and Virology, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Roma 1-San Filippo Neri Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Vanini
- Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Unità Operativa Semplice (UOS) Professioni Sanitarie Tecniche, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Linda Petrone
- Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Rita Casetti
- Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Gilda Cuzzi
- Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Salmi
- Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Altera
- Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Luca Pierelli
- Unità Operativa Complessa (UOC) Transfusion Medicine and Stem Cell, San Camillo Forlanini Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Gina Gualano
- Respiratory Infectious Diseases Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Tommaso Ascoli Bartoli
- Clinical Division of Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Concetta Castilletti
- Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Agrati
- Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Enrico Girardi
- Clinical Epidemiology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Palmieri
- Respiratory Infectious Diseases Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Emanuele Nicastri
- Clinical Division of Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Enrico Di Rosa
- Local Public Health Office, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Roma 1, Rome, Italy
| | - Delia Goletti
- Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- *Correspondence: Delia Goletti,
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