Julia Sbierski-Kind, Stephan Schlickeiser, Svenja Feldmann, Veronica Ober, Eva Grüner, Claire Pleimelding, Leonard Gilberg, Isabel Brand, Nikolas Weigl, Mohamed I M Ahmed, Gerardo Ibarra, Michael Ruzicka, Christopher Benesch, Anna Pernpruner, Elisabeth Valdinoci, Michael Hoelscher, Kristina Adorjan, Hans Christian Stubbe, Michael Pritsch, Ulrich Seybold, Julia Roider
BACKGROUND: Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are key organizers of tissue immune responses and regulate tissue development, repair, and pathology. Persistent clinical sequelae beyond 12 weeks following acute COVID-19 disease, named post-COVID syndrome (PCS), are increasingly recognized in convalescent individuals. ILCs have been associated with the severity of COVID-19 symptoms but their role in the development of PCS remains poorly defined. METHODS AND RESULTS: Here, we used multiparametric immune phenotyping, finding expanded circulating ILC precursors (ILCPs) and concurrent decreased group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in PCS patients compared to well-matched convalescent control groups at > 3 months after infection or healthy controls...
February 7, 2024: Infection