Cell response to novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is currently a widely researched topic. The assessment of leukocytes population and the maturation of both B and T lymphocytes may be important in characterizing the immunological profile of COVID-19 patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate maturation of B and T cells in COVID-19 patients with interstitial lesions on chest X-ray (COVID-19 X-ray (+)), without changes on X-ray (COVID-19 X-ray (-)) and in healthy control. The study group consisted of 23 patients divided on two groups: COVID-19 X-ray (+) n = 14 and COVID-19 X-ray (-) n = 9 and control n = 20. The flow cytometry method was performed. We observed a significantly higher percentage of plasmablasts and lower CD4+ lymphocytes in COVID-19 X-ray (+) patients than in COVID-19 X-ray (-) and control. In the COVID-19 X-ray (+) patients, there was a lower proportion of effector CD4+ T cells, naïve CD8+ T cells and higher central memory CD4+ cells and effector CD8+ T cells than control. The above results showed that the assessment of selected cells of B and T lymphocytes by flow cytometry can distinguish patients with COVID-19 and differentiate patients with and without changes on chest X-ray.
Keywords: B cells maturation; CD4+ cells; COVID-19; T cells maturation; central memory CD4+; effector CD8+ cells; flow cytometry; plasmablasts.