Regulatory T and CXCR3+ Circulating Tfh Cells Concordantly Shape the Neutralizing Antibody Responses in Individuals Who Have Recovered from Mild COVID-19

Regulatory T (Treg) cells are involved in the antiviral immune response in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); however, whether Treg cells are involved in the neutralizing antibody (nAb) response remains unclear. Here, we found that individuals who recovered from mild but not severe C...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 2024-07, Vol.230 (1), p.28-37
Main Authors: Zheng, Xingyu, Lu, Rui, Pan, Dong, Peng, Liting, He, Rongzhang, Hu, Yabin, Chen, Jun, Tang, Jinyong, Rong, Xiaohan, Teng, Shishan, Wang, You, Liu, Fen, Xie, Tianyi, Wu, Chanfeng, Tang, Yinggen, Liu, Wenpei, Qu, Xiaowang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Antibodies, Neutralizing - blood
Antibodies, Neutralizing - immunology
Antibodies, Viral - blood
Antibodies, Viral - immunology
COVID-19 - immunology
Female
Humans
Male
Memory B Cells - immunology
Middle Aged
Receptors, CXCR3 - immunology
Receptors, CXCR3 - metabolism
T Follicular Helper Cells - immunology
T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology
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Summary:Regulatory T (Treg) cells are involved in the antiviral immune response in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); however, whether Treg cells are involved in the neutralizing antibody (nAb) response remains unclear. Here, we found that individuals who recovered from mild but not severe COVID-19 had significantly greater frequencies of Treg cells and lower frequencies of CXCR3+ circulating T follicular helper (cTfh) cells than healthy controls. Furthermore, the frequencies of Treg and CXCR3+ cTfh cells were negatively and positively correlated with the nAb responses, respectively, and Treg cells was inversely associated with CXCR3+ cTfh cells in individuals who recovered from mild COVID-19 but not in those with severe disease. Mechanistically, Treg cells inhibited memory B-cell differentiation and antibody production by limiting the activation and proliferation of cTfh cells, especially CXCR3+ cTfh cells, and functional molecule expression. This study provides novel insight showing that mild COVID-19 elicits concerted nAb responses, which are shaped by both Treg and Tfh cells.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/jiae061