Type-I interferons (IFNs) mediate antiviral activity and have emerged as important immune mediators during coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). Several lines of evidence suggest that impaired type-I IFN signaling may predispose to severe COVID-19. However, the pathophysiologic mechanisms that contribute to illness severity remains unclear. In the present study, our goal was to gain insight into how type-I IFNs influence patient outcomes in patients with COVID-19. To achieve this goal, we compared clinical outcomes between 26 patients with neutralizing type-I IFN autoantibodies (AAbs) and 192 patients without AAbs who were hospitalized for COVID-19 at three Italian hospitals. The presence of circulating AAbs to type-I IFNs was associated with an increased risk of admission to the intensive care unit and a delayed time to viral clearance. However, survival was not adversely affected by the presence of type-I IFN AAbs. Our findings provide further support for the contribution of type-I IFN AAbs in impairing host antiviral defense and promoting the development of critical COVID-19 pneumonia in SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals.
Abers, M., Rosen, L., Delmonte, O., Shaw, E., Bastard, P., Imberti, L., et al. (2021). Neutralizing type-I interferon autoantibodies are associated with delayed viral clearance and intensive care unit admission in patients with COVID-19. IMMUNOLOGY AND CELL BIOLOGY, 99(9), 917-921 [10.1111/imcb.12495].
Neutralizing type-I interferon autoantibodies are associated with delayed viral clearance and intensive care unit admission in patients with COVID-19
Biondi, Andrea;Bonfanti, Paolo;
2021
Abstract
Type-I interferons (IFNs) mediate antiviral activity and have emerged as important immune mediators during coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). Several lines of evidence suggest that impaired type-I IFN signaling may predispose to severe COVID-19. However, the pathophysiologic mechanisms that contribute to illness severity remains unclear. In the present study, our goal was to gain insight into how type-I IFNs influence patient outcomes in patients with COVID-19. To achieve this goal, we compared clinical outcomes between 26 patients with neutralizing type-I IFN autoantibodies (AAbs) and 192 patients without AAbs who were hospitalized for COVID-19 at three Italian hospitals. The presence of circulating AAbs to type-I IFNs was associated with an increased risk of admission to the intensive care unit and a delayed time to viral clearance. However, survival was not adversely affected by the presence of type-I IFN AAbs. Our findings provide further support for the contribution of type-I IFN AAbs in impairing host antiviral defense and promoting the development of critical COVID-19 pneumonia in SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.