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Frontiers in immunology
2021;12 716075.

Transcriptome Analysis of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Reveals Distinct Immune Response in Asymptomatic and Re-Detectable Positive COVID-19 Patients.

Jiaqi Zhang, Dongzi Lin, Kui Li, Xiangming Ding, Lin Li, Yuntao Liu, Dongdong Liu, Jing Lin, Xiangyun Teng, Yizhe Li, Ming Liu, Jian Shen, Xiaodan Wang, Dan He, Yaling Shi, Dawei Wang, Jianhua Xu
Author Information
  1. Jiaqi Zhang: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China.
  2. Dongzi Lin: Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Fourth People's Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, China.
  3. Kui Li: Department of Translational Medicine Research Institute, Guangzhou Huayin Medical Laboratory Center, Ltd, Guangzhou, China.
  4. Xiangming Ding: Department of Bioinformatics, Guangzhou Geneseed Biotech Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, China.
  5. Lin Li: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China.
  6. Yuntao Liu: Emergency Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
  7. Dongdong Liu: Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
  8. Jing Lin: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First People's Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, China.
  9. Xiangyun Teng: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China.
  10. Yizhe Li: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China.
  11. Ming Liu: Department of Bioinformatics, Guangzhou Geneseed Biotech Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, China.
  12. Jian Shen: Department of Bioinformatics, Guangzhou Geneseed Biotech Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, China.
  13. Xiaodan Wang: Department of Translational Medicine Research Institute, Guangzhou Huayin Medical Laboratory Center, Ltd, Guangzhou, China.
  14. Dan He: Department of Translational Medicine Research Institute, Guangzhou Huayin Medical Laboratory Center, Ltd, Guangzhou, China.
  15. Yaling Shi: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
  16. Dawei Wang: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China.
  17. Jianhua Xu: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China.
PMID: 34394120 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.716075

Abstract

The existence of asymptomatic and re-detectable positive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients presents the disease control challenges of COVID-19. Most studies on immune responses in COVID-19 have focused on moderately or severely symptomatic patients; however, little is known about the immune response in asymptomatic and re-detectable positive (RP) patients. Here we performed a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptomic profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 48 COVID-19 patients which included 8 asymptomatic, 13 symptomatic, 15 recovered and 12 RP patients. The weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified six co-expression modules, of which the turquoise module was positively correlated with the asymptomatic, symptomatic, and recovered COVID-19 patients. The red module positively correlated with symptomatic patients only and the blue and brown modules positively correlated with the RP patients. The analysis by single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) revealed a lower level of IFN response and complement activation in the asymptomatic patients compared with the symptomatic, indicating a weaker immune response of the PBMCs in the asymptomatic patients. In addition, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analysis showed the enrichment of TNFα/NF-κB and influenza infection in the RP patients compared with the recovered patients, indicating a hyper-inflammatory immune response in the PBMC of RP patients. Thus our findings could extend our understanding of host immune response during the progression of COVID-19 disease and assist clinical management and the immunotherapy development for COVID-19.

Keywords

COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic immune response re-detectable positive

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MeSH Term

Adult
Asymptomatic Diseases
COVID-19
Carrier State
Complement Activation
Female
Gene Expression Profiling
Humans
Inflammation
Influenza, Human
Interferons
Leukocytes, Mononuclear
Male
Middle Aged
NF-kappa B
SARS-CoV-2
Transcriptome
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Young Adult

Chemicals

NF-kappa B
TNF protein, human
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Interferons
Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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