Landscape of infiltrated immune cell characterization in COVID-19

Wei Zheng; Yuan Zhang; Guichuan Lai; Biao Xie

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28174

Landscape of infiltrated immune cell characterization in COVID-19

Heliyon. 2024 Mar 18;10(6):e28174. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28174. eCollection 2024 Mar 30.

Authors

Wei Zheng¹, Yuan Zhang², Guichuan Lai², Biao Xie²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China.
² Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Yixue Road, Chongqing, 400016, China.

Abstract

Purpose: Although the role of SARS-CoV-2-specfic immune cells has been revealed, a comprehensive understanding of immune patterns remains unknown.

Methods: In this work, unsupervised consensus clustering analysis was used to classify 240 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients into different immune subtypes. Next, we performed differentially expressed analysis between different immune subtypes. Functional enrichment and pathway analyses were employed to reveal the biological significance of these differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Besides, we compared feature score of some DEGs between whole blood and lung tissues. Then, we utilized the "GSVA" algorithm to construct an immune cell infiltrating (ICI) tool based on the categories of these DEGs. Finally, we developed a nomogram associated with severity of COVID-19.

Results: As a result, we identified two immune subtypes, and 238 DEGs which mainly participated in some immune-related functions and the COVID-19 pathway. Most importantly, the 238 DEGs could reflect the characterization of immune patterns in lung tissues. ICI scores were markedly negative associated with immune scores. It was worth noting that ICI score was a strong indicator for severity of COVID-19 and could accurately predict the severity of COVID-19.

Conclusion: Our findings could provide more valuable strategies for the management of COVID-19.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019; Gene expression; Immune infiltrating cells; Immune response; Severity; Viral infection.