The effect of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection on systemic immune responses in individuals with tuberculosis

• Published in: Frontiers in immunology Vol. 15; p. 1357360
• Main Authors: Xavier, Mariana S, Araujo-Pereira, Mariana, de Oliveira, Quezia M, Sant'Anna, Flavia M, Ridolfi, Felipe M, de Andrade, Alice M S, Figueiredo, Marina C, Sterling, Timothy R, Gordhan, Bhavna G, Kana, Bavesh D, Andrade, Bruno B, Rolla, Valeria C, Gomes-Silva, Adriano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 27.06.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Brazil - epidemiology; COVID-19 - blood; COVID-19 - immunology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cytokines - blood; Cytokines - immunology; disease severity; Female; Humans; immune response; Immunology; immunomodulation; Male; Middle Aged; previous infection; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; tuberculosis; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - blood; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - immunology; Brazil; immunomodulation; previous infection; SARS-CoV-2; immune response; disease severity; tuberculosis
• ISSN: 1664-3224; 1664-3224
• DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1357360

The impact of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection on the systemic immune response during tuberculosis (TB) disease has not been explored. An observational, cross-sectional cohort was established to evaluate the systemic immune response in persons with pulmonary tuberculosis with or without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Those participants were recruited in an outpatient referral clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. TB was defined as a positive Xpert-MTB/RIF Ultra and/or a positive culture of from sputum. Stored plasma was used to perform specific serology to identify previous SARS-CoV-2 infection (TB/Prex-SCoV-2 group) and confirm the non- infection of the tuberculosis group (TB group). Plasmatic cytokine/chemokine/growth factor profiling was performed using Luminex technology. Tuberculosis severity was assessed by clinical and laboratory parameters. Participants from TB group (4.55%) and TB/Prex-SCoV-2 (0.00%) received the complete COVID-19 vaccination. Among 35 participants with pulmonary TB, 22 were classified as TB/Prex-SCoV-2. The parameters associated with TB severity, together with hematologic and biochemical data were similar between the TB and TB/Prex-SCoV-2 groups. Among the signs and symptoms, fever and dyspnea were significantly more frequent in the TB group than the TB/Prex-SCoV-2 group (p < 0,05). A signature based on lower amount of plasma EGF, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-α2, IL-12(p70), IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, IL-1β, IL-5, IL-7, and TNF-β was observed in the TB/Prex-SCoV-2 group. In contrast, MIP-1β was significantly higher in the TB/Prex-SCoV-2 group than the TB group. TB patients previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 had an immunomodulation that was associated with lower plasma concentrations of soluble factors associated with systemic inflammation. This signature was associated with a lower frequency of symptoms such as fever and dyspnea but did not reflect significant differences in TB severity parameters observed at baseline.