Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 isolates, namely the Wuhan strain, Delta variant, and Omicron variant, identifies differential immune profiles
Bibliographic record
Abstract
ABSTRACT There is an urgent need to better understand the impact of different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants on immune response and disease dynamics to facilitate better intervention strategies. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 variants differentially affect host immune responses. The magnitude and quantity of cytokines and chemokines were comparable in those infected with the Wuhan strain and the Delta variant. However, individuals infected with the Omicron variant had significantly lower levels of these mediators. We also found an elevation of plasma galectins (Gal-3, Gal-8, and Gal-9) in infected individuals, in particular, in those with the original strain. Soluble galectins exert a proinflammatory role in COVID-19 pathogenesis. This was illustrated by their correlation with the plasma levels of sCD14, sCD163, enhanced TNF-α/IL-6 secretion, and increased SARS-CoV-2 infectivity in vitro . Moreover, we observed enhanced CD4 + and CD8 + T cell activation in Wuhan strain-infected individuals. Surprisingly, there was a more pronounced T cell activation in those infected with the Omicron in comparison to the Delta variant. In line with T cell activation status, we observed a more pronounced expansion of T cells expressing different co-inhibitory receptors in patients infected with the Wuhan strain, followed by the Omicron and Delta variants. Individuals infected with the Wuhan strain or the Omicron variant had a similar pattern of plasma soluble immune checkpoints. Our results imply that a milder innate immune response might be beneficial and protective in those infected with the Omicron variant. Our results provide a novel insight into the differential impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on host immunity. IMPORTANCE There is a need to better understand how different SARS-CoV-2 variants influence the immune system and disease dynamics to facilitate the development of better vaccines and therapies. We compared immune responses in 140 SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals with the Wuhan strain, the Delta variant, or the Omicron variant. All these patients were admitted to the intensive care unit and were SARS-CoV-2 vaccination naïve. We found that SARS-CoV-2 variants differentially affect the host immune response. This was done by measuring soluble biomarkers in their plasma and examining different immune cells. Overall, we found that the magnitude of cytokine storm in individuals infected with the Wuhan strain or the Delta variant was greater than in those infected with the Omicron variant. In light of enhanced cytokine release syndrome in individuals infected with the Wuhan strain or the Delta variant, we believe that a milder innate immune response might be beneficial and protective in those infected with the Omicron variant.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".