Single-Cell Sequencing of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Reveals Immune Landscape of Monkeypox Patients with HIV<subtitle>Immune response of atlas in patients with monkeypox and HIV</subtitle>

Abstract

The monkeypox (MPXV) outbreak in 2022 is more prevalent among individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). While it is plausible that HIV-induced immunosuppression could result in a more severe progression, the exact mechanisms remain undetermined. To better understand the immunopathology of MPXV in patients with and without HIV infection, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to analyze peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 6 patients hospitalized for MPXV, 3 of whom had HIV infection (HIV antibody positive & HIV RNA level below the detection limit), and 3 patients only infected with MPXV (HIV-). We map the peripheral immune response in both the acute phase and the recovery period, showing the reconfiguration of peripheral immune cell phenotypes in acute stage compared with recovery stage of 6 patients, characterized by disturbed cell subsets and intense cell interactions mediated by monocytes and neutrophils. Importantly, besides different Mono/DC dynamic between HIV + and HIV- patients, HIV + patients showed decreased NK cells subsets and expansion of some CD8 T cell subsets, we also found obviously dysregulated gene expression in B cells, thus proposing mechanism underlying serious condition underlying HIV + patients. In conclusion, our findings provide a comprehensive cell atlas of MPXV patients, shed light on the mechanisms underlying the severe disease progression and longer recovery time in HIV + individuals.

Keywords

• Monkeypox
• HIV
• Single cell RNA sequencing
• Immune response