SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)-specific T cell and B cell responses in convalescent rheumatoid arthritis : Monozygotic twins pair case observation

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients present higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19), and proper management of the disease in this population requires a better understanding of how the immune system controls the virus. We analyzed the T cell and B cell phenotypes, and their repertoire in a pair of monozygotic twins with RA mismatched for COVID-19 infection. Twin- was not infected, while Twin+ was infected and effectively controlled the infection. We found no significant changes on the αβ T cell composition, while γδ T cells and B cells presented considerable expansion of memory population in Twin+ and robust T/B cell responses to several SARS-CoV-2 peptides. T cell receptor β/γ-chain and immunoglobulin heavy chain next-generation sequencing depicted a remarkable higher diversity in Twin+ compared with Twin-, despite no significant changes being found in variable/joining family usage. Repertoire overlap analyses showed that, although being identical twins, very few clones were shared between them, indicating that COVID-19 may lead to deep changes on the immune cell repertoire in RA patients. Altogether, our results indicate that RA patients may develop robust and persistent COVID-19-specific T/B cell responses; γδ T cells and B cells may play a key role in the management of COVID-19 in RA, and the infection may lead to a profound reshaping of immune cell receptor specificities.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Immunologi inom det medicinska området (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Immunology in the medical area (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

COVID-19

immunoglobulin heavy chain

next-generation sequencing

SARS-CoV-2

T cell receptor

adalimumab

coronavirus protein

cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody

methotrexate

T lymphocyte receptor beta chain

T lymphocyte receptor gamma chain

lymphocyte antigen receptor

adult

Article

B lymphocyte

case report

cell expansion

cellular immunity

clinical article

clone

controlled study

convalescence

coronavirus disease 2019

gamma delta T lymphocyte

high throughput sequencing

human

human cell

male

middle aged

monozygotic twins

nonhuman

phenotype

rheumatoid arthritis

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

T lymphocyte

genetics

twins

Arthritis

Rheumatoid

Diseases in Twins

Humans

Receptors

Antigen

T-Cell

alpha-beta

Receptors

Antigen

T-Cell

gamma-delta

T-Lymphocytes

Twins

Monozygotic

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)