Abstract
To date, only minimal attention has been paid to assessment of immunity state in patients with post-COVID syndrome. Influence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on various systems in the body, including the immune system, may contribute to the development of disorders causing different diseases. At the same time, the patients suffering from the COVID-19 complications, including hospitalization and isolation from their family members, experience severe psychological and social stress. In almost every fourth case, these factors lead to development of the s.c. post-COVID syndrome. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the numbers of NK cells, levels of cortisol and characteristics of immune system disorders in the patients who underwent SARS-CoV-2 infection.
78 patients were examined 6 months after suffering COVID-19. We have assessed 25 parameters of the blood system (general blood test), 50 parameters of immune system, i.e., counts of T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes and their functional markers, NK, T-NK cell subsets, phagocytic components of immune system, as well as factors of humoral immunity, including total and specific immunoglobulins and complement fragments.
Our studies showed a sharp, three-fold decrease in the number of natural killers in more than 1/3 of the examined individuals. This decrease is accompanied by higher relative contents of T lymphocytes and T helper cells. The latter finding may be associated with a compensatory increase in T lymphocytes and dysregulation of the T cell link of immune system, thus requiring a more detailed study and, most likely, evaluation of the cytokine profile in such patients. Moreover, in some post-COVID patients, high levels of cortisol still persist, thus suggesting maintenance of chronic stress in these patients. Some changes in platelet counts are also important (increased levels of blood platelets and thrombocytocrit), which may promote later disorders of blood clotting system and development of thrombosis.
Publisher
Russian Society of Immunology
Subject
Immunology,General Medicine
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