High baseline frequencies of natural killer cells are associated with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection

Elizabeth K. Graydon; Allison M.W. Malloy; Kawthar Machmach; Peifang Sun; Dominic Paquin-Proulx; Stephen Lizewski; Rhonda Lizewski; Dawn L. Weir; Carl W. Goforth; Stephen K. Anderson; Andrew G. Letizia; Edward Mitre

Current Research in Immunology (Jan 2023)

High baseline frequencies of natural killer cells are associated with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection

Elizabeth K. Graydon,
Allison M.W. Malloy,
Kawthar Machmach,
Peifang Sun,
Dominic Paquin-Proulx,
Stephen Lizewski,
Rhonda Lizewski,
Dawn L. Weir,
Carl W. Goforth,
Stephen K. Anderson,
Andrew G. Letizia,
Edward Mitre

Affiliations

Elizabeth K. Graydon: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA
Allison M.W. Malloy: Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA
Kawthar Machmach: Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA; Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring MD, USA; U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Peifang Sun: Infectious Disease Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Dominic Paquin-Proulx: Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA; Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring MD, USA; U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Stephen Lizewski: Navy Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Rhonda Lizewski: Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Arlington, VA, USA
Dawn L. Weir: Infectious Disease Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Carl W. Goforth: Infectious Disease Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Stephen K. Anderson: Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA
Andrew G. Letizia: Infectious Disease Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Edward Mitre: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA; Corresponding author. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 4
p. 100064

Abstract

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This study tested the hypothesis that high frequencies of natural killer (NK) cells are protective against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Samples were utilized from the COVID-19 Health Action Response for Marines study, a prospective, observational study of SARS-CoV-2 infection in which participants were enrolled prior to infection and then serially monitored for development of symptomatic or asymptomatic infection. Frequencies and phenotypes of NK cells (CD3−CD14−CD19−CD56+) were assessed by flow cytometry. Individuals that developed asymptomatic infections were found to have higher pre-infection frequencies of total NK cells compared to symptomatic individuals (10.61% [SD 4.5] vs 8.33% [SD 4.6], p = 0.011). Circulating total NK cells decreased over the course of infection, reaching a nadir at 4 weeks, while immature NK cells increased, a finding confirmed by multidimensional reduction analysis. These results indicate that NK cells likely play a key role in controlling the severity of clinical illness in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Published in Current Research in Immunology

ISSN: 2590-2555 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Specialties of internal medicine
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/current-research-in-immunology

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