Autophagy Hijacking in PBMC From COVID-19 Patients Results in Lymphopenia

Autophagy is a homeostatic process responsible for the self-digestion of intracellular components and antimicrobial defense by inducing the degradation of pathogens into autophagolysosomes. Recent findings suggest an involvement of this process in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SAR...

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Published in:Frontiers in immunology 2022-05, Vol.13, p.903498-903498
Main Authors: Barbati, Cristiana, Celia, Alessandra Ida, Colasanti, Tania, Vomero, Marta, Speziali, Mariangela, Putro, Erisa, Buoncuore, Giorgia, Savino, Flavia, Colafrancesco, Serena, Ucci, Federica Maria, Ciancarella, Claudia, Balbinot, Eugenia, Scarpa, Susanna, Natalucci, Francesco, Pellegrino, Greta, Ceccarelli, Fulvia, Spinelli, Francesca Romana, Mastroianni, Claudio Maria, Conti, Fabrizio, Alessandri, Cristiano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
apoptosis
autophagy
COVID-19
Immunology
inflammation
lymphocytes
SARS-CoV-2
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Summary:Autophagy is a homeostatic process responsible for the self-digestion of intracellular components and antimicrobial defense by inducing the degradation of pathogens into autophagolysosomes. Recent findings suggest an involvement of this process in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. However, the role of autophagy in the immunological mechanisms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis remains largely unexplored. This study reveals the presence of autophagy defects in peripheral immune cells from COVID-19 patients. The impairment of the autophagy process resulted in a higher percentage of lymphocytes undergoing apoptosis in COVID-19 patients. Moreover, the inverse correlation between autophagy markers levels and peripheral lymphocyte counts in COVID-19 patients confirms how a defect in autophagy might contribute to lymphopenia, causing a reduction in the activation of viral defense. These results provided intriguing data that could help in understanding the cellular underlying mechanisms in COVID-19 infection, especially in severe forms.
ISSN:1664-3224
1664-3224
DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2022.903498