Circuits between infected macrophages and T cells in SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.
Rogan A Grant, Luisa Morales-Nebreda, Nikolay S Markov, Suchitra Swaminathan, Melissa Querrey, Estefany R Guzman, Darryl A Abbott, Helen K Donnelly, Alvaro Donayre, Isaac A Goldberg, Zasu M Klug, Nicole Borkowski, Ziyan Lu, Hermon Kihshen, Yuliya Politanska, Lango Sichizya, Mengjia Kang, Ali Shilatifard, Chao Qi, Jon W Lomasney, A Christine Argento, Jacqueline M Kruser, Elizabeth S Malsin, Chiagozie O Pickens, Sean B Smith, James M Walter, Anna E Pawlowski, Daniel Schneider, Prasanth Nannapaneni, Hiam Abdala-Valencia, Ankit Bharat, Cara J Gottardi, G R Scott Budinger, Alexander V Misharin, Benjamin D Singer, Richard G Wunderink, NU SCRIPT Study Investigators
Author Information
Rogan A Grant: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. ORCID
Luisa Morales-Nebreda: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Nikolay S Markov: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. ORCID
Suchitra Swaminathan: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Melissa Querrey: Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Estefany R Guzman: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Darryl A Abbott: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Helen K Donnelly: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Alvaro Donayre: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Isaac A Goldberg: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. ORCID
Zasu M Klug: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Nicole Borkowski: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Ziyan Lu: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Hermon Kihshen: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Yuliya Politanska: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Lango Sichizya: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Mengjia Kang: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Ali Shilatifard: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. ORCID
Chao Qi: Department of Pathology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Jon W Lomasney: Department of Pathology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. ORCID
A Christine Argento: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Jacqueline M Kruser: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Elizabeth S Malsin: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Chiagozie O Pickens: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Sean B Smith: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
James M Walter: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Anna E Pawlowski: Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Daniel Schneider: Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. ORCID
Prasanth Nannapaneni: Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Hiam Abdala-Valencia: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Ankit Bharat: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Cara J Gottardi: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
G R Scott Budinger: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. s-buding@northwestern.edu. ORCID
Alexander V Misharin: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. a-misharin@northwestern.edu. ORCID
Benjamin D Singer: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. benjamin-singer@northwestern.edu. ORCID
Richard G Wunderink: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. r-wunderink@northwestern.edu. ORCID
Some patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) develop severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Distinct clinical features in these patients have led to speculation that the immune response to virus in the SARS-CoV-2-infected alveolus differs from that in other types of pneumonia. Here we investigate SARS-CoV-2 pathobiology by characterizing the immune response in the alveoli of patients infected with the virus. We collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from 88 patients with SARS-CoV-2-induced respiratory failure and 211 patients with known or suspected pneumonia from other pathogens, and analysed them using flow cytometry and bulk transcriptomic profiling. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on 10 bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples collected from patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) within 48 h of intubation. In the majority of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, the alveolar space was persistently enriched in T cells and monocytes. Bulk and single-cell transcriptomic profiling suggested that SARS-CoV-2 infects alveolar macrophages, which in turn respond by producing T cell chemoattractants. These T cells produce interferon-γ to induce inflammatory cytokine release from alveolar macrophages and further promote T cell activation. Collectively, our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 causes a slowly unfolding, spatially limited alveolitis in which alveolar macrophages containing SARS-CoV-2 and T cells form a positive feedback loop that drives persistent alveolar inflammation.
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