TY - JOUR
T1 - Depletion of circulating IgM memory B cells predicts unfavourable outcome in COVID-19
AU - Lenti, Marco Vincenzo
AU - Aronico, Nicola
AU - Pellegrino, Ivan
AU - Boveri, Emanuela
AU - Giuffrida, Paolo
AU - Borrelli de Andreis, Federica
AU - Morbini, Patrizia
AU - Vanelli, Laura
AU - Pasini, Alessandra
AU - Ubezio, Cristina
AU - Melazzini, Federica
AU - Rascaroli, Alessandro
AU - Antoci, Valentina
AU - Merli, Stefania
AU - Di Terlizzi, Francesco
AU - Sabatini, Umberto
AU - Cambiè, Ginevra
AU - Tenore, Annamaria
AU - Picone, Cristina
AU - Vanoli, Alessandro
AU - Arcaini, Luca
AU - Baldanti, Fausto
AU - Paulli, Marco
AU - Corazza, Gino Roberto
AU - Di Sabatino, Antonio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Impaired immune responses have been hypothesised to be a possible trigger of unfavourable outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to characterise IgM memory B cells in patients with COVID-19 admitted to an internal medicine ward in Northern Italy. Overall, 66 COVID-19 patients (mean age 74 ± 16.6 years; 29 females) were enrolled. Three patients (4.5%; 1 female) had been splenectomised and were excluded from further analyses. Fifty-five patients (87.3%) had IgM memory B cell depletion, and 18 (28.6%) died during hospitalisation (cumulative incidence rate 9.26/100 person-week; 5.8–14.7 95% CI). All patients who died had IgM memory B cell depletion. A superimposed infection was found in 6 patients (9.5%), all of them having IgM memory B cell depletion (cumulative incidence rate 3.08/100 person-week; 1.3–6.8 95% CI). At bivariable analyses, older age, sex, number of comorbidities, and peripheral blood lymphocyte count < 1500/µl were not correlated with IgM memory B cell depletion. A discrete-to-marked reduction of the B-cell compartment was also noticed in autoptic spleen specimens of two COVID-19 patients. We conclude that IgM memory B cells are commonly depleted in COVID-19 patients and this correlates with increased mortality and superimposed infections.
AB - Impaired immune responses have been hypothesised to be a possible trigger of unfavourable outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to characterise IgM memory B cells in patients with COVID-19 admitted to an internal medicine ward in Northern Italy. Overall, 66 COVID-19 patients (mean age 74 ± 16.6 years; 29 females) were enrolled. Three patients (4.5%; 1 female) had been splenectomised and were excluded from further analyses. Fifty-five patients (87.3%) had IgM memory B cell depletion, and 18 (28.6%) died during hospitalisation (cumulative incidence rate 9.26/100 person-week; 5.8–14.7 95% CI). All patients who died had IgM memory B cell depletion. A superimposed infection was found in 6 patients (9.5%), all of them having IgM memory B cell depletion (cumulative incidence rate 3.08/100 person-week; 1.3–6.8 95% CI). At bivariable analyses, older age, sex, number of comorbidities, and peripheral blood lymphocyte count < 1500/µl were not correlated with IgM memory B cell depletion. A discrete-to-marked reduction of the B-cell compartment was also noticed in autoptic spleen specimens of two COVID-19 patients. We conclude that IgM memory B cells are commonly depleted in COVID-19 patients and this correlates with increased mortality and superimposed infections.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096928674&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85096928674&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-020-77945-8
DO - 10.1038/s41598-020-77945-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 33257775
AN - SCOPUS:85096928674
VL - 10
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
IS - 1
M1 - 20836
ER -