Comparison οf Immune Responses Through Multiparametric T-Cell Cytokine Expression Profile Between Children with Convalescent COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome

• Published in: Children (Basel) 2024-10, Vol.11 (11), p.1278
• Main Authors: Filippatos, Filippos, Tzanoudaki, Marianna, Tatsi, Elizabeth-Barbara, Dessypris, Nick, Koukou, Dimitra-Maria, Georgokosta, Chrysa, Syriopoulou, Vasiliki, Michos, Athanasios
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Antibodies; biomarker; Cloning; COVID-19; Cytokines; Disease; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Fever; Flow cytometry; Hospitalization; Hospitals; IFNγ; IL-17; Immune response; Immunology; Immunotherapy; Infection; Infections; Inflammation; Medical laboratories; Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children; Pediatrics; Proteins; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Statistical analysis; T cells; Tumor necrosis factor
• ISSN: 2227-9067; 2227-9067
• DOI: 10.3390/children11111278

The immunological pathways that cause Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome after SARS-CoV-2 infection in children (MIS-C) remain under investigation. The aim of this study was to prospectively compare the T-cell cytokine expression profile in unvaccinated children with acute MIS-C (MISC_A) before immunosuppression, convalescent MIS-C (one month after syndrome onset, MISC_C), convalescent COVID-19 (one month after hospitalization), and in healthy, unvaccinated controls. The intracellular expression of IL-4, IL-2, IL-17, IFNγ, TNF-α and Granzyme B, and the post SARS-CoV-2-Spike antigenic mix stimulation of T-cell subsets was analyzed by 13-color flow cytometry. Twenty children with a median age (IQR) of 11.5 (7.25-14) years were included in the study. From the comparison of the flow cytometry analysis of the 14 markers of MISC_A with the other three groups (MISC_C, post-COVID-19 and controls), significant differences were identified as follows: 1. CD4 IL-17 /million CD3 : 293.0(256.4-870.9) vs. 50.7(8.4-140.5); -value: 0.03, vs. 96.7(89.2-135.4); -value: 0.03 and vs. 8.7(0.0-82.4); -value: 0.03, respectively; 2. CD8 IL-17 /million CD3 : 335.2(225.8-429.9) vs. 78.0(31.9-128.9) vs. 84.1(0.0-204.6) vs. 33.2(0.0-114.6); -value: 0.05, respectively; 3. CD8 IFNγ /million CD3 : 162.2(91.6-273.4) vs. 41.5(0.0-77.4); -value: 0.03 vs. 30.3(0.0-92.8); -value: 0.08, respectively. In children presenting with MIS-C one month after COVID-19 infection, T cells were found to be polarized towards IL-17 and IFNγ production compared to those with uncomplicated convalescent COVID-19, a finding that could provide possible immunological biomarkers for MIS-C detection.