The most recently discovered interferon (IFN) family, type III IFNs or lambda IFNs (IFN-λs) are caused by viral infection and act in mucosal barriers, such as the respiratory tract. In this study, we assessed the serum levels of IFN-λs in new coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients. Sixty-four COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this study. All cases were divided into the intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU groups according to their symptoms. Fourteen samples of healthy controls were also included. The serum levels of IFN-λ1 and IFN-λ2 were analyzed by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. The concentrations of IFN-λ1 and IFN-λ2 induced in the serum of non-ICU patients (836.7 ± 284.6 and 798.8 ± 301.5 pg/mL, respectively) were higher than found in ICU patients (81.57 ± 34.25 and 48.32 ± 28.13 pg/mL, respectively) (P = 0.004 and P = 0.006, respectively) and healthy controls (85.57 ± 33.63 and 65.82 ± 21.26 pg/mL, respectively) (P = 0.03 and P = 0.04, respectively). Meanwhile, no significant differences were found in the concentration of both cytokines between the ICU patients and healthy controls. We conclude that higher levels of IFN-λs are associated with decreased clinical manifestations in COVID-19 patients. These cytokines could be a promising therapeutic agent to avoid the overwhelming consequences of COVID-19.

中文翻译：

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Lambda干扰素在防止严重COVID-19中的相互作用

最近发现的干扰素（IFN）家族，III型IFN或λIFN（IFN-λs）由病毒感染引起，并在粘膜屏障（如呼吸道）中起作用。在这项研究中，我们评估了2019年新冠状病毒病（COVID-19）患者的血清IFN-λs。这项研究纳入了64名COVID-19患者。根据症状将所有病例分为重症监护病房（ICU）和非ICU组。还包括十四个健康对照样品。通过特异性酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）试剂盒分析血清IFN-λ1和IFN-λ2。非ICU患者血清中诱导的IFN-λ1和IFN-λ2浓度（分别为836.7±284.6和798.8±301.5 pg / mL）高于ICU患者（81.57±34.25和48.32±28.13 pg / mL）分别为mL）（P  = 0.004和P  = 0.006）和健康对照组（分别为85.57±33.63和65.82±21.26 pg / mL）（分别为P  = 0.03和P  = 0.04）。同时，在ICU患者和健康对照者之间两种细胞因子的浓度均未发现显着差异。我们得出的结论是，较高水平的IFN-λ与COVID-19患者的临床表现下降有关。这些细胞因子可能是避免COVID-19产生压倒性后果的有前途的治疗剂。