T cell-driven sustained inflammation and immune dysregulation mimicking immunosenescence for up to three years post-COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Long COVID has emerged as a major global health concern, yet the long-term trajectory of immune recovery and its contribution to persistent symptoms remain to be elucidated. Here, we conducted a three-year longitudinal follow-up of the 47 COVID-19 patients and applied single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and multiplex cytokine profiling to comprehensively characterize the peripheral immune landscape during convalescence. We observed persistent immune dysregulation up to three years post-infection, characterized by chronic inflammation and impaired restoration of naïve CD4⁺ T cells, naïve CD8⁺ T cells, and SLC4A10⁺ MAIT cells-features reminiscent of immunosenescence. Notably, Th17 cells, rather than monocytes, emerged as key drivers of chronic inflammation beyond one

SUBMITTER: Zheng T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12630218 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature