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Saresella M, Trabattoni D, Marventano I, et al. NK Cell Subpopulations and Receptor Expression in Recovering SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Mol Neurobiol. 2021;58(12):6111-6120doi: 10.1007/s12035-021-02517-4.
Saresella, M., Trabattoni, D., Marventano, I., Piancone, F., La Rosa, F., Caronni, A., Lax, A., Bianchi, L., Banfi, P., Navarro, J., Bolognesi, E., Zanzottera, M., Guerini, F. R., & Clerici, M. (2021). NK Cell Subpopulations and Receptor Expression in Recovering SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Molecular neurobiology, 58(12), 6111-6120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-021-02517-4
Saresella, Marina, et al. "NK Cell Subpopulations and Receptor Expression in Recovering SARS-CoV-2 Infection." Molecular neurobiology vol. 58,12 (2021): 6111-6120. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-021-02517-4
Saresella M, Trabattoni D, Marventano I, Piancone F, La Rosa F, Caronni A, Lax A, Bianchi L, Banfi P, Navarro J, Bolognesi E, Zanzottera M, Guerini FR, Clerici M. NK Cell Subpopulations and Receptor Expression in Recovering SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Mol Neurobiol. 2021 Dec;58(12):6111-6120. doi: 10.1007/s12035-021-02517-4. Epub 2021 Aug 28. PMID: 34453271; PMCID: PMC8397607.
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Mol Neurobiol. 2021 Dec;58(12):6111-6120. doi: 10.1007/s12035-021-02517-4. Epub 2021 Aug 28.

NK Cell Subpopulations and Receptor Expression in Recovering SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Molecular neurobiology

Marina Saresella, Daria Trabattoni, Ivana Marventano, Federica Piancone, Francesca La Rosa, Antonio Caronni, Agata Lax, Luca Bianchi, Paolo Banfi, Jorge Navarro, Elisabetta Bolognesi, Milena Zanzottera, Franca Rosa Guerini, Mario Clerici

Affiliations

  1. IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Via Capecelatro, 66, 20148, Milan, Italy. [email protected].
  2. Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "L. Sacco,", University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
  3. IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Via Capecelatro, 66, 20148, Milan, Italy.
  4. Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.

PMID: 34453271 PMCID: PMC8397607 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02517-4

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Whereas in most cases COVID-19 is asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic, extremely severe clinical forms are observed. In this case, complex immune dysregulations and an excessive inflammatory response are reported and are the main cause of morbidity and mortality. Natural killer cells are key players in the control of viral infection, and their activity is regulated by a tight balance between activating and inhibitory receptors; an alteration of NK activity was suggested to be associated with the development of severe forms of COVID-19. In this study, we analyzed peripheral NK cell subpopulations and the expression of activating and inhibitory receptors in 30 patients suffering from neurological conditions who recovered from mild, moderate, or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, comparing the results to those of 10 SARS-CoV-2-uninfected patients. Results showed that an expansion of NK subset with lower cytolytic activity and an augmented expression of the 2DL1 inhibitory receptor, particularly when in association with the C2 ligand (KIR2DL1-C2), characterized the immunological scenario of severe COVID-19 infection. An increase of NK expressing the ILT2 inhibitory receptor was instead seen in patients recovering from mild or moderate infection compared to controls. Results herein suggest that the KIR2DL1-C2 NK inhibitory complex is a risk factor toward the development of severe form of COVID-19. Our results confirm that a complex alteration of NK activity is present in COVID-19 infection and offer a molecular explanation for this observation.

© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords: COVID-19; Innate immunity; KIR; NK; SARS-CoV-2

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