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In a study published recently in the main journal “Allergy”, a team of scientists from MedUni Vienna led by immunologist Winfried F. Pickl and allergist Rudolf Valenta (both from the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology) showed that there are seven “ways of illness “in COVID-19 with a mild course of illness and that the illness leaves behind significant changes in the immune system, even after 10 weeks. These findings could play an important role in treating patients and developing a potent vaccine.
In the study involving 109 convalescents and 98 healthy individuals in the control group, the researchers were able to show that various COVID-19-related symptoms occur in groups of symptoms. They identified seven groups of symptoms: 1) “flu-like symptoms” (with fever, chills, fatigue and cough), 2) (“symptoms similar to the common cold” (with rhinitis, sneezing, dry throat and nasal congestion), 3) “joint and muscle pain”, 4) “inflammation of the eyes and mucous membranes”, 5) “lung problems” (with pneumonia and shortness of breath), 6) “gastrointestinal problems” (including diarrhea , nausea and headache) and 7) “loss of sense of smell and taste and other symptoms”.
“In the latter group, we found that loss of smell and taste predominantly affects people with a ‘young immune system’, as measured by the number of immune cells (T lymphocytes) that have recently migrated from the thymus gland to distinguish clearly the systemic forms (eg, groups 1 and 3) of the organ-specific forms (eg, groups 6 and 7) of the primary disease COVID-19, “says Pickl.
Footprint of COVID-19 in the blood
At the same time, the scientists established that COVID-19 leaves detectable changes for a long time in the blood of convalescents, very similar to a fingerprint. For example, the number of granulocytes, which are otherwise responsible in the immune system for fighting bacterial pathogens, is significantly lower than normal in the COVID-19 group. Pickl explains: “However, both the CD4 and CD8 T cell compartments developed memory cells and the CD8 T cells remained strongly activated. This indicates that the immune system is still intensely compromised with disease several weeks after the initial infection. At the same time, regulatory cells are severely depleted, and that’s probably a dangerous combination that could lead to autoimmunity. ” Furthermore, increased levels of antibody-producing immune cells were detected in convalescent blood: the higher the fever of the affected patient during the mild course of the disease, the higher the levels of antibodies against the virus.
“Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the disease and help us in the development of potential vaccines, as we now have access to promising biomarkers and can track even better,” emphasize the scientists. “Above all, the study shows that the human immune system” doubles “when defending against COVID-19 with the combined action of immune cells and antibodies, like the defense in a modern soccer team, and that cells can also memorize certain ‘movements’ by the virus (Note: ‘memory’) and responding to them. Now it’s a matter of implementing these findings and using them for the development of highly effective COVID-19 vaccines. ”
Reference
Kratzer B, Trapin D, Ettel P et al. Immunological imprinting of COVID-19 in human peripheral blood leukocyte populations. Allergy. n / a (n / a). doi: 10.1111 / all.14647
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