Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals HIF1A as a Severity-Sensitive Immunological Scar in Circulating Monocytes of Convalescent Comorbidity-Free COVID-19 Patients
COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is characterized by a wide range of clinical symptoms and a poorly predictable disease course. Although in-depth transcriptomic investigations of peripheral blood samples from COVID-19 patients have been performed, the...
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/13/4/300 |
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author | Lilly May Chang-Feng Chu Christina E. Zielinski |
author_facet | Lilly May Chang-Feng Chu Christina E. Zielinski |
author_sort | Lilly May |
collection | DOAJ |
description | COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is characterized by a wide range of clinical symptoms and a poorly predictable disease course. Although in-depth transcriptomic investigations of peripheral blood samples from COVID-19 patients have been performed, the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying an asymptomatic, mild or severe disease course, particularly in patients without relevant comorbidities, remain poorly understood. While previous studies have mainly focused on the cellular and molecular dissection of ongoing COVID-19, we set out to characterize transcriptomic immune cell dysregulation at the single-cell level at different time points in patients without comorbidities after disease resolution to identify signatures of different disease severities in convalescence. With single-cell RNA sequencing, we reveal a role for hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1A) as a severity-sensitive long-term immunological scar in circulating monocytes of convalescent COVID-19 patients. Additionally, we show that circulating complexes formed by monocytes with either T cells or NK cells represent a characteristic cellular marker in convalescent COVID-19 patients irrespective of their preceding symptom severity. Together, these results provide cellular and molecular correlates of recovery from COVID-19 and could help in immune monitoring and in the design of new treatment strategies. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:37:28Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-3429ca0510144447aebed9f1b6b77d77 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2073-4409 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:37:28Z |
publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Cells |
spelling | doaj.art-3429ca0510144447aebed9f1b6b77d772024-02-23T15:11:39ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092024-02-0113430010.3390/cells13040300Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals HIF1A as a Severity-Sensitive Immunological Scar in Circulating Monocytes of Convalescent Comorbidity-Free COVID-19 PatientsLilly May0Chang-Feng Chu1Christina E. Zielinski2Leibniz Institute for Natural Products Research and Infection Biology, Department of Infection Immunology, 07745 Jena, GermanyLeibniz Institute for Natural Products Research and Infection Biology, Department of Infection Immunology, 07745 Jena, GermanyLeibniz Institute for Natural Products Research and Infection Biology, Department of Infection Immunology, 07745 Jena, GermanyCOVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is characterized by a wide range of clinical symptoms and a poorly predictable disease course. Although in-depth transcriptomic investigations of peripheral blood samples from COVID-19 patients have been performed, the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying an asymptomatic, mild or severe disease course, particularly in patients without relevant comorbidities, remain poorly understood. While previous studies have mainly focused on the cellular and molecular dissection of ongoing COVID-19, we set out to characterize transcriptomic immune cell dysregulation at the single-cell level at different time points in patients without comorbidities after disease resolution to identify signatures of different disease severities in convalescence. With single-cell RNA sequencing, we reveal a role for hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1A) as a severity-sensitive long-term immunological scar in circulating monocytes of convalescent COVID-19 patients. Additionally, we show that circulating complexes formed by monocytes with either T cells or NK cells represent a characteristic cellular marker in convalescent COVID-19 patients irrespective of their preceding symptom severity. Together, these results provide cellular and molecular correlates of recovery from COVID-19 and could help in immune monitoring and in the design of new treatment strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/13/4/300COVID-19SARS-CoV-2immunomonitoringsingle-cell RNA sequencinghypoxia-inducible factor 1-alphaHIF1A |
spellingShingle | Lilly May Chang-Feng Chu Christina E. Zielinski Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals HIF1A as a Severity-Sensitive Immunological Scar in Circulating Monocytes of Convalescent Comorbidity-Free COVID-19 Patients Cells COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 immunomonitoring single-cell RNA sequencing hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha HIF1A |
title | Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals HIF1A as a Severity-Sensitive Immunological Scar in Circulating Monocytes of Convalescent Comorbidity-Free COVID-19 Patients |
title_full | Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals HIF1A as a Severity-Sensitive Immunological Scar in Circulating Monocytes of Convalescent Comorbidity-Free COVID-19 Patients |
title_fullStr | Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals HIF1A as a Severity-Sensitive Immunological Scar in Circulating Monocytes of Convalescent Comorbidity-Free COVID-19 Patients |
title_full_unstemmed | Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals HIF1A as a Severity-Sensitive Immunological Scar in Circulating Monocytes of Convalescent Comorbidity-Free COVID-19 Patients |
title_short | Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals HIF1A as a Severity-Sensitive Immunological Scar in Circulating Monocytes of Convalescent Comorbidity-Free COVID-19 Patients |
title_sort | single cell rna sequencing reveals hif1a as a severity sensitive immunological scar in circulating monocytes of convalescent comorbidity free covid 19 patients |
topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 immunomonitoring single-cell RNA sequencing hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha HIF1A |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/13/4/300 |
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