Paediatric COVID-19 (pCOVID-19) is rarely severe, but a small minority of children infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop a multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). This study describes distinct immunological signatures in pCOVID-19 versus MIS-C. While pCOVID-19 was characterized by robust type I interferon (IFN) responses, MIS-C was associated with IFNγ-dependent and NF-κB-dependent signatures, activation of extracellular matrix and increased levels of circulating SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. The study also confirmed an earlier report linking MIS-C with the combination of the HLA-A*02, HLA-B*35 and HLA-C*04 alleles. Understanding the unique immunopathology of pCOVID-19 compared with MIS-C may guide better therapies for children infected with SARS-CoV-2.
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Sacco, K. et al. Immunopathological signatures in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and pediatric COVID-19. Nat. Med. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01724-3 (2022)
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Bordon, Y. Comparing paediatric COVID-19 with MIS-C. Nat Rev Immunol 22, 208 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-022-00711-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-022-00711-6