Abstract
Hyperinflammation and dysfunction of the immune response during COVID-19 infection develops due to the reaction of innate immune cells to the introduction of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The expression of receptors on these cells reflects the degree of their activation and makes it possible to assess the intensity of inflammation. The purpose of this study were to study the structural and functional features of innate immunity cells in patients. The specific gravity and absolute content of neutrophils (CD11b+, CD16+, CD18+) and monocytes (CD14+CD16–, CD14–CD16+, CD11b+, CD18+) in the peripheral blood of patients were determined. The contingent of the study included 60 people, of which: 47 had had a coronavirus infection COVID-19 (confirmed by PCR) in the 12 weeks preceding the study, and 13 had no history of it. In the peripheral blood of people who had COVID-19, compared with those who had not been ill, a significantly lower number of monocytes of the classical (CD14–CD16+) and, on the contrary, a greater number of non-classical (CD14+CD16–) cell populations were determined (p0.05). Also in these individuals, a high proportion of monocytes carrying the adhesion receptors CD11b and CD18 (p0.01) and a high content of neutrophils expressing the adhesion receptor CD11b+ and CD16+ (p0.05) was noted. Thus, the results of a study of the expression of various types of receptors on monocytes and neutrophils illustrated the long-term preservation of aberrant structural and functional characteristics of innate immunity cells in individuals who underwent COVID-19.