Indeterminate QuantiFERON Gold Plus Results Reveal Deficient Interferon Gamma Responses in Severely Ill COVID-19 Patients.

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2 is a novel positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that has caused a recent pandemic. Most patients have a mild disease course, while approximately 20% have moderate to severe disease, often requiring hospitalization and, in some cases, care in the intensive care unit. By investigating a perceived increased rate of indeterminate QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus results in hospitalized COVID patients, we demonstrate that severely ill COVID-19 patients have at least a 6-fold reduction of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) levels compared to control patients. What is more, over 60% of these severely ill COVID-19 patients' peripheral T cells were found to be unable to produce measurable IFN-γ when stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), a potent IFN-γ mitogen, reflected by an indeterminate QuantiF

SUBMITTER: Ward JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8451425 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature