Divergent and self-reactive immune responses in the CNS of COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms
- PMID: 33969321
- PMCID: PMC8091032
- DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100288
Divergent and self-reactive immune responses in the CNS of COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms
Abstract
Individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) frequently develop neurological symptoms, but the biological underpinnings of these phenomena are unknown. Through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and cytokine analyses of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood from individuals with COVID-19 with neurological symptoms, we find compartmentalized, CNS-specific T cell activation and B cell responses. All affected individuals had CSF anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies whose target epitopes diverged from serum antibodies. In an animal model, we find that intrathecal SARS-CoV-2 antibodies are present only during brain infection and not elicited by pulmonary infection. We produced CSF-derived monoclonal antibodies from an individual with COVID-19 and found that these monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) target antiviral and antineural antigens, including one mAb that reacted to spike protein and neural tissue. CSF immunoglobulin G (IgG) from 5 of 7 patients showed antineural reactivity. This immune survey reveals evidence of a compartmentalized immune response in the CNS of individuals with COVID-19 and suggests a role of autoimmunity in neurologic sequelae of COVID-19.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; autoimmunity; cerebrospinal fluid; neurological infection.
© 2021 The Author(s).
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare to competing interests.
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Update of
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Exploratory neuroimmune profiling identifies CNS-specific alterations in COVID-19 patients with neurological involvement.bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2020 Dec 9:2020.09.11.293464. doi: 10.1101/2020.09.11.293464. bioRxiv. 2020. Update in: Cell Rep Med. 2021 May 18;2(5):100288. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100288. PMID: 32935102 Free PMC article. Updated. Preprint.
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