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Krishna BA, Lim EY, Metaxaki M, Jackson S, Mactavous L, Lyons PA, Doffinger R, Bradley JR, Smith KGC, Sinclair J, Matheson NJ, Lehner PJ, Sithole N, Wills MR. Spontaneous, persistent, T cell-dependent IFN-γ release in patients who progress to Long Covid. Sci Adv 2024; 10:eadi9379. [PMID: 38381822 PMCID: PMC10881041 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi9379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
After acute infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a proportion of patients experience persistent symptoms beyond 12 weeks, termed Long Covid. Understanding the mechanisms that cause this debilitating disease and identifying biomarkers for diagnostic, therapeutic, and monitoring purposes are urgently required. We detected persistently high levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with Long Covid using highly sensitive FluoroSpot assays. This IFN-γ release was seen in the absence of ex vivo peptide stimulation and remains persistently elevated in patients with Long Covid, unlike the resolution seen in patients recovering from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. The IFN-γ release was CD8+ T cell-mediated and dependent on antigen presentation by CD14+ cells. Longitudinal follow-up of our study cohort showed that symptom improvement and resolution correlated with a decrease in IFN-γ production to baseline levels. Our study highlights a potential mechanism underlying Long Covid, enabling the search for biomarkers and therapeutics in patients with Long Covid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A. Krishna
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Eleanor Y. Lim
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Marina Metaxaki
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
| | - Sarah Jackson
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Lenette Mactavous
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - NIHR BioResource
- NIHR BioResource, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Paul A. Lyons
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Rainer Doffinger
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - John R. Bradley
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- NIHR BioResource, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Renal Medicine, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Kenneth G. C. Smith
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - John Sinclair
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Nicholas J. Matheson
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- NHS Blood and Transplant, Cambridge CB2 0PT, UK
| | - Paul J. Lehner
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Nyaradzai Sithole
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Mark R. Wills
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
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Krishna BA, Lim EY, Mactavous L, Lyons PA, Doffinger R, Bradley JR, Smith KGC, Sinclair J, Matheson NJ, Lehner PJ, Wills MR, Sithole N. Evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in seronegative patients with long COVID. EBioMedicine 2022; 81:104129. [PMID: 35772216 PMCID: PMC9235296 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is currently no consensus on the diagnosis, definition, symptoms, or duration of COVID-19 illness. The diagnostic complexity of Long COVID is compounded in many patients who were or might have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 but not tested during the acute illness and/or are SARS-CoV-2 antibody negative. METHODS Given the diagnostic conundrum of Long COVID, we set out to investigate SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or Long COVID from a cohort of mostly non-hospitalised patients. FINDINGS We discovered that IL-2 release (but not IFN-γ release) from T cells in response to SARS-CoV-2 peptides is both sensitive (75% +/-13%) and specific (88%+/-7%) for previous SARS-CoV-2 infection >6 months after a positive PCR test. We identified that 42-53% of patients with Long COVID, but without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, nonetheless have detectable SARS-CoV-2 specific T cell responses. INTERPRETATION Our study reveals evidence (detectable T cell mediated IL-2 release) of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in seronegative patients with Long COVID. FUNDING This work was funded by the Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust (900276 to NS), NIHR award (G112259 to NS) and supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. NJM is supported by the MRC (TSF MR/T032413/1) and NHSBT (WPA15-02). PJL is supported by the Wellcome Trust (PRF 210688/Z/18/Z, 084957/Z/08/Z), a Medical Research Council research grant MR/V011561/1 and the United Kingdom Research and a Innovation COVID Immunology Consortium grant (MR/V028448/1).
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A Krishna
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Eleanor Y Lim
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Lenette Mactavous
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Paul A Lyons
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Rainer Doffinger
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - John R Bradley
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; Cambridge NIHR BioResource Centre, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; Department of Renal Medicine, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Kenneth G C Smith
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - John Sinclair
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Nicholas J Matheson
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; NHS Blood and Transplant, Cambridge CB2 0PT, UK
| | - Paul J Lehner
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Mark R Wills
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
| | - Nyaradzai Sithole
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
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