Upper respiratory tract is the primary site of SARS-CoV-2 replication. Releasing of pro and anti-inflammatory mediators plays an important role in the immunopathogenesis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to evaluate the early inflammatory response in upper airway by measuring of IFN-γ, TGF-β1 and RANTES at mRNA level. Forty five SARS-CoV-2 infected patients were enrolled, whose were divided in two groups: asymptomatic and symptomatic. Twenty healthy persons, SARS-CoV-2 negative were included as controls. Higher IFN-γ expression was detected in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in comparison with controls (p = 0.0393). IFN-γ expression was increased in symptomatic patients (p = 0.0405). TGF-β1 and RANTES expressions were lower in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients than controls (p < 0.0001; p = 0.0011, respectively). A significant correlation between IFN-γ and TGF-β1 was observed in SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic patients (r = +0.61, p = 0.0014). The findings suggest that imbalance between IFN-γ and TGF-β1 expression could be an impact in clinical expression of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

上呼吸道是SARS-CoV-2复制的主要部位。促炎和抗炎介质的释放在2019年冠状病毒疾病（COVID-19）的免疫发病机理中起着重要作用。这项研究的目的是通过测量mRNA水平上的IFN-γ，TGF-β1和RANTES来评估上呼吸道的早期炎症反应。招募了45位SARS-CoV-2感染患者，将其分为无症状和有症状两组。包括二十名健康人，SARS-CoV-2阴性的作为对照。与对照组相比，在SARS-CoV-2感染的患者中检测到更高的IFN-γ表达（p  = 0.0393）。有症状患者的IFN-γ表达升高（p = 0.0405）。在SARS-CoV-2感染的患者中，TGF-β1和RANTES表达低于对照组（分别为p  <0.0001; p = 0.0011）。在SARS-CoV-2无症状患者中观察到IFN-γ和TGF-β1之间的显着相关性（r = + 0.61，p  = 0.0014）。这些发现表明，IFN-γ和TGF-β1表达之间的不平衡可能影响SARS-CoV-2感染的临床表达。