1. Pediatric COVID-19 patients in South Brazil show abundant viral mRNA and strong specific anti-viral responses
- Author
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Julia C Fontoura, Jayme de Castilhos Ferreira Neto, Alexandre Borin, Lais D. Coimbra, Marcela Santos Correa da Costa, Ivaine Tais Sauthier Sartor, Cristina Bonorino, Marcelo Comerlato Scotta, Luiz Carlos Rodrigues Junior, Rafael Elias Marques, Ingrid Rodrigues Fernandes, Sidia M. Callegari-Jacques, Alisson F Haubert, Tiago Fazolo, Karina Lima, Márcia Polese-Bonatto, Raissa S Mello, Gabriel Hilario, Thiago J Borges, Priscila Oliveira de Souza, Veridiane Maria Pscheidt, Matheus de Bastos Balbe E Gutierres, Renata Zorzetto, Rodrigo Benedetti Gassen, Renato T. Stein, Jaqueline de Araujo Schwartz, Fernanda Hammes Varela, Helder I. Nakaya, Gabriela Oliveira Zavaglia, Aline C Oliveira, and Izza Gambin
- Subjects
Adult ,CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ,Male ,COVID-19 Vaccines ,Adolescent ,T-Lymphocytes ,Science ,T cell ,General Physics and Astronomy ,Disease ,CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ,Biology ,Antibodies, Viral ,Article ,Antibodies ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Virus ,Young Adult ,Immune system ,medicine ,Humans ,RNA, Messenger ,Child ,Aged ,Viral Structural Proteins ,Vaccines, Synthetic ,Messenger RNA ,Multidisciplinary ,SARS-CoV-2 ,Transmission (medicine) ,COVID-19 ,Antimicrobial responses ,General Chemistry ,Middle Aged ,Immunity, Innate ,Immunity, Humoral ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Child, Preschool ,Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus ,Immunology ,Infectious diseases ,Cytokines ,RNA, Viral ,Female ,Tumor necrosis factor alpha ,Brazil ,CD8 - Abstract
COVID-19 manifests as a milder disease in children than adults, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully characterized. Here we assess the difference in cellular or humoral immune responses of pediatric and adult COVID-19 patients to see if these factors contribute to the severity dichotomy. Children’s non-specific immune profile is dominated by naive lymphocytes and HLA-DRhighCX3CR1low dendritic cells; meanwhile, children show strong specific antibody and T cell responses for viral structural proteins, with their T cell responses differing from adults by having weaker CD8+TNF+ T cells responses to S peptide pool but stronger responses to N and M peptide pools. Finally, viral mRNA is more abundant in pediatric patients. Our data thus support a scenario in which SARS-CoV-2 infected children contribute to transmission yet are less susceptible to COVID-19 symptoms due to strong and differential responses to the virus., Children often show milder COVID-19 symptoms, but the underlying mechanistic insights are still lacking. Here the authors profile both pediatric and adult cohorts of COVID-19 patients in Brazil to find that children exhibit higher viral load but stronger and biased cellular immunity, thereby serving clues for the differential responses in children.
- Published
- 2021
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