Project description:A dysregulated immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus plays a critical role in severe COVID-19. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which the virus causes lethal immunopathology are poorly understood. Here, we utilize multi-omics single-cell analysis to probe dynamic immune responses in patients with stable or progressive manifestations of COVID-19, and assess the effects of tocilizumab, an anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody. Coordinated profiling of gene expression and cell lineage protein markers reveals a prominent type-1 interferon response across all immune cells, especially in progressive patients. An anti-inflammatory signature in monocytes and a pre-exhaustion phenotype in activated T cells are hallmarks of progressive disease. Single-cell T and B cell receptor repertoire analysis reveal a skewed clonal distribution of CD8 T cells and a primary B cell response with possible contribution from memory B cells. Our in-depth immune profiling reveals dyssynchrony of the innate and adaptive immune interaction in progressive COVID-19, which may contribute to delayed virus clearance and has implications for therapeutic intervention.
Project description:A dysregulated immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus plays a critical role in severe COVID-19. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which the virus causes lethal immunopathology are poorly understood. Here, we utilize multi-omics single-cell analysis to probe dynamic immune responses in patients with stable or progressive manifestations of COVID-19, and assess the effects of tocilizumab, an anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody. Coordinated profiling of gene expression and cell lineage protein markers reveals a prominent type-1 interferon response across all immune cells, especially in progressive patients. An anti-inflammatory signature in monocytes and a pre-exhaustion phenotype in activated T cells are hallmarks of progressive disease. Single-cell T and B cell receptor repertoire analysis reveal a skewed clonal distribution of CD8 T cells and a primary B cell response with possible contribution from memory B cells. Our in-depth immune profiling reveals dyssynchrony of the innate and adaptive immune interaction in progressive COVID-19, which may contribute to delayed virus clearance and has implications for therapeutic intervention.
Project description:Multi-omics single-cell profiling of surface proteins, gene expression and lymphocyte immune receptors from hospitalised COVID-19 patient peripheral blood immune cells and healthy controls donors. Identification of the coordinated immune cell compositional and state changes in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection or LPS challenge, compared to healthy control immune cells.
Project description:We utilize single-cell sequencing (scSeq) of lymphocyte immune repertoires and transcriptomes to quantitatively profile the adaptive immune response in COVID-19 patients of varying age. Our scSeq analysis defines the adaptive immune repertoire and transcriptome in convalescent COVID-19 patients and shows important age-related differences implicated in immunity against SARS-CoV-2.
Project description:Discriminating mild-moderate from critical COVID-19 disease by innate and adaptive immune single-cell profiling of bronchoalveolar lavages.
Project description:The majority of COVID-19 patients experience mild to moderate disease course and recover within a few weeks. An increasing number of studies characterized the long-term changes in the specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune responses, but how COVID-19 shapes the innate and heterologous adaptive immune system after recovery is less well known. To comprehensively investigate the post-SARS-CoV-2 infection sequelae on the immune system, we performed a multi-omics study by integrating single-cell RNA-sequencing, single-cell ATAC-sequencing, genome-wide DNA methylation profiling, and functional validation experiments in convalescent COVID-19 and healthy individuals. We showed that immune responses generally recover without major sequelae after COVID-19. However, subtle differences persist at the transcriptomic level in monocytes, with downregulation of the interferon pathway, while DNA methylation also displays moderate changes in convalescent COVID-19 individuals. However, these differences did not affect the cytokine production capacity of PBMCs upon different bacterial, viral, and fungal stimuli, although baseline release of IL-1RA and IFN?? was higher in convalescent individuals. In conclusion, despite minor differences in epigenetic and transcriptional programs, the immune system of convalescent COVID-19 patients largely recovers to the homeostatic level of healthy individuals.
Project description:Innate immunity triggers responsible for viral control or hyperinflammation in COVID-19 are largely unknown. Recently we could show that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S-protein) primes inflammasome formation and release of mature interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in macrophages derived from COVID-19 patients but not in macrophages from healthy SARS-CoV-2 naïve individuals (Theobald et al. EMBO Mol Med. 2021). Further analysis revealed that SARS-CoV-2 infection causes profound and long-lived reprogramming of macrophages resulting in augmented immunogenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 S-protein, a major vaccine antigen and potent driver of adaptive and innate immune signaling. In this project we want to focus on novel mRNA vaccines, which are exploiting S-protein driven immunogenicity for protection against SARS-CoV-2. Transcriptome analyses of macrophages might reveal differences in innate immune-associated pathways between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals after prime-boost. Thus, our project could help to gain a better understanding of vaccine-induced immunity including underlying molecular mechanisms in the interaction of the innate and adaptive immune system after mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.
