Longitudinal Characterization of Immune Response in a Cohort of Children Hospitalized with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome

oleh: Laura Dotta, Daniele Moratto, Marco Cattalini, Sara Brambilla, Viviana Giustini, Antonella Meini, Maria Federica Girelli, Manuela Cortesi, Silviana Timpano, Anna Galvagni, Anna Viola, Beatrice Crotti, Alessandra Manerba, Giorgia Pierelli, Giulia Verzura, Federico Serana, Duilio Brugnoni, Emirena Garrafa, Francesca Ricci, Cesare Tomasi, Marco Chiarini, Raffaele Badolato

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-06-01

Deskripsi

Background: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) is a severe complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection caused by hyperactivation of the immune system. Methods: this is a retrospective analysis of clinical data, biochemical parameters, and immune cell subsets in 40 MIS-C patients from hospital admission to outpatient long-term follow-up. Results: MIS-C patients had elevated inflammatory markers, associated with T- and NK-cell lymphopenia, a profound depletion of dendritic cells, and altered monocyte phenotype at disease onset, while the subacute phase of the disease was characterized by a significant increase in T- and B-cell counts and a rapid decline in activated T cells and terminally differentiated B cells. Most of the immunological parameters returned to values close to the normal range during the remission phase (20–60 days after hospital admission). Nevertheless, we observed a significantly reduced ratio between recently generated and more differentiated CD8+ T- and B-cell subsets, which partially settled at longer-term follow-up determinations. Conclusions: The characterization of lymphocyte distribution in different phases of MIS-C may help to understand the course of diseases that are associated with dysregulated immune responses and to calibrate prompt and targeted treatments.