Spatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury

<p>Severe lung damage resulting from COVID-19 involves complex interactions between diverse populations of immune and stromal cells. In this study, we used a spatial transcriptomics approach to delineate the cells, pathways, and genes present across the spectrum of histopathological damage in...

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Main Authors: Cross, AR, de Andrea, CE, Villalba-Esparza, M, Landecho, MF, Cerundolo, L, Weeratunga, P, Etherington, RE, Denney, L, Ogg, G, Ho, L-P, Roberts, IS, Hester, J, Klenerman, P, Melero, I, Sansom, SN, Issa, F
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: American Society for Clinical Investigation 2022
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author Cross, AR
de Andrea, CE
Villalba-Esparza, M
Landecho, MF
Cerundolo, L
Weeratunga, P
Etherington, RE
Denney, L
Ogg, G
Ho, L-P
Roberts, IS
Hester, J
Klenerman, P
Melero, I
Sansom, SN
Issa, F
author_facet Cross, AR
de Andrea, CE
Villalba-Esparza, M
Landecho, MF
Cerundolo, L
Weeratunga, P
Etherington, RE
Denney, L
Ogg, G
Ho, L-P
Roberts, IS
Hester, J
Klenerman, P
Melero, I
Sansom, SN
Issa, F
author_sort Cross, AR
collection OXFORD
description <p>Severe lung damage resulting from COVID-19 involves complex interactions between diverse populations of immune and stromal cells. In this study, we used a spatial transcriptomics approach to delineate the cells, pathways, and genes present across the spectrum of histopathological damage in COVID-19&ndash;affected lung tissue. We applied correlation network&ndash;based approaches to deconvolve gene expression data from 46 areas of interest covering more than 62,000 cells within well-preserved lung samples from 3 patients. Despite substantial interpatient heterogeneity, we discovered evidence for a common immune-cell signaling circuit in areas of severe tissue that involves crosstalk between cytotoxic lymphocytes and pro-inflammatory macrophages. Expression of&nbsp;<em>IFNG</em>&nbsp;by cytotoxic lymphocytes was associated with induction of chemokines, including&nbsp;<em>CXCL9</em>,&nbsp;<em>CXCL10</em>, and&nbsp;<em>CXCL11</em>, which are known to promote the recruitment of CXCR3<sup>+</sup>&nbsp;immune cells. The TNF superfamily members&nbsp;<em>BAFF</em>&nbsp;(<em>TNFSF13B</em>) and&nbsp;<em>TRAIL</em>&nbsp;(<em>TNFSF10</em>) were consistently upregulated in the areas with severe tissue damage. We used published spatial and single-cell SARS-CoV-2 data sets to validate our findings in the lung tissue from additional cohorts of patients with COVID-19. The resulting model of severe COVID-19 immune-mediated tissue pathology may inform future therapeutic strategies.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:c1e619c9-0827-42bd-a526-338bf01dffd22023-08-04T12:54:52ZSpatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injuryJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:c1e619c9-0827-42bd-a526-338bf01dffd2EnglishSymplectic ElementsAmerican Society for Clinical Investigation2022Cross, ARde Andrea, CEVillalba-Esparza, MLandecho, MFCerundolo, LWeeratunga, PEtherington, REDenney, LOgg, GHo, L-PRoberts, ISHester, JKlenerman, PMelero, ISansom, SNIssa, F<p>Severe lung damage resulting from COVID-19 involves complex interactions between diverse populations of immune and stromal cells. In this study, we used a spatial transcriptomics approach to delineate the cells, pathways, and genes present across the spectrum of histopathological damage in COVID-19&ndash;affected lung tissue. We applied correlation network&ndash;based approaches to deconvolve gene expression data from 46 areas of interest covering more than 62,000 cells within well-preserved lung samples from 3 patients. Despite substantial interpatient heterogeneity, we discovered evidence for a common immune-cell signaling circuit in areas of severe tissue that involves crosstalk between cytotoxic lymphocytes and pro-inflammatory macrophages. Expression of&nbsp;<em>IFNG</em>&nbsp;by cytotoxic lymphocytes was associated with induction of chemokines, including&nbsp;<em>CXCL9</em>,&nbsp;<em>CXCL10</em>, and&nbsp;<em>CXCL11</em>, which are known to promote the recruitment of CXCR3<sup>+</sup>&nbsp;immune cells. The TNF superfamily members&nbsp;<em>BAFF</em>&nbsp;(<em>TNFSF13B</em>) and&nbsp;<em>TRAIL</em>&nbsp;(<em>TNFSF10</em>) were consistently upregulated in the areas with severe tissue damage. We used published spatial and single-cell SARS-CoV-2 data sets to validate our findings in the lung tissue from additional cohorts of patients with COVID-19. The resulting model of severe COVID-19 immune-mediated tissue pathology may inform future therapeutic strategies.</p>
spellingShingle Cross, AR
de Andrea, CE
Villalba-Esparza, M
Landecho, MF
Cerundolo, L
Weeratunga, P
Etherington, RE
Denney, L
Ogg, G
Ho, L-P
Roberts, IS
Hester, J
Klenerman, P
Melero, I
Sansom, SN
Issa, F
Spatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury
title Spatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury
title_full Spatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury
title_fullStr Spatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury
title_full_unstemmed Spatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury
title_short Spatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury
title_sort spatial transcriptomic characterization of covid 19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury
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