Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), driven by SARS-CoV-2, is now declared a global pandemic. Pathogenic T cells and inflammatory monocytes are regarded as the central drivers of the cytokine storm associated with the severity of COVID-19. In this study, we explored the characteristic peripheral cellular profiles of patients with COVID-19 in both acute and convalescent phases by single-cell mass cytometry (CyTOF). Using a combination of algorithm-guided data analyses, we identified peripheral immune cell subsets in COVID-19, and revealed CD4⁺ T cell depletion, T cell differentiation, plasma cell expansion, and the reduced antigen presentation capacity of innate immunity. Notably, COVID-19 induces a dysregulation in the balance of monocyte populations by the expansion of the monocyte subsets. Collectively, our results represent a high-dimensional single-cell profile of the peripheral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

中文翻译：

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高维单细胞分析揭示COVID-19的免疫特征

由 SARS-CoV-2 驱动的 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 现已被宣布为全球大流行病。致病性 T 细胞和炎症单核细胞被认为是与 COVID-19 严重程度相关的细胞因子风暴的主要驱动因素。在本研究中，我们通过单细胞质谱流式细胞仪 (CyTOF) 探讨了 COVID-19 患者急性期和恢复期的特征性外周细胞特征。通过结合算法引导的数据分析，我们识别了 COVID-19 中的外周免疫细胞亚群，并揭示了 CD4 ⁺ T 细胞耗竭、T 细胞分化、浆细胞扩张以及先天免疫的抗原呈递能力降低。值得注意的是，COVID-19 通过单核细胞亚群的扩张导致单核细胞群平衡失调。总的来说，我们的结果代表了针对 SARS-CoV-2 感染的外周免疫反应的高维单细胞概况。