1. Regulatory T and CXCR3+ Circulating Tfh Cells Concordantly Shape the Neutralizing Antibody Responses in Individuals Who Have Recovered from Mild COVID-19.
- Author
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Zheng X, Lu R, Pan D, Peng L, He R, Hu Y, Chen J, Tang J, Rong X, Teng S, Wang Y, Liu F, Xie T, Wu C, Tang Y, Liu W, and Qu X
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Memory B Cells immunology, Antibodies, Neutralizing immunology, Antibodies, Neutralizing blood, Antibodies, Viral blood, Antibodies, Viral immunology, COVID-19 immunology, Receptors, CXCR3 metabolism, Receptors, CXCR3 immunology, T Follicular Helper Cells immunology, T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory immunology
- Abstract
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., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. All authors: No reported conflicts of interest. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2024
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