Single-cell analysis of two severe COVID-19 patients reveals a monocyte-associated and tocilizumab-responding cytokine storm
Several studies show that the immunosuppressive drugs targeting the interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor, including tocilizumab, ameliorate lethal inflammatory responses in COVID-19 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Here, by employing single-cell analysis of the immune cell composition of two severe-stage...
Saved in:
Published in | Nature communications Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 3924 - 11 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
06.08.2020
Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Several studies show that the immunosuppressive drugs targeting the interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor, including tocilizumab, ameliorate lethal inflammatory responses in COVID-19 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Here, by employing single-cell analysis of the immune cell composition of two severe-stage COVID-19 patients prior to and following tocilizumab-induced remission, we identify a monocyte subpopulation that contributes to the inflammatory cytokine storms. Furthermore, although tocilizumab treatment attenuates the inflammation, immune cells, including plasma B cells and CD8
+
T cells, still exhibit robust humoral and cellular antiviral immune responses. Thus, in addition to providing a high-dimensional dataset on the immune cell distribution at multiple stages of the COVID-19, our work also provides insights into the therapeutic effects of tocilizumab, and identifies potential target cell populations for treating COVID-19-related cytokine storms.
Tocilizumab has been used to treat the excessive inflammatory responses in COVID-19 patients. Here, the authors use single-cell RNA sequencing results from two severe COIVD-19 patients to provide high-dimensional immune profiling data, and to implicate potential cellular and molecular insights for the therapeutic effects of tocilizumab. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 2041-1723 2041-1723 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-020-17834-w |