High-dimensional profiling reveals phenotypic heterogeneity and disease-specific alterations of in COVID-19

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing evidence suggests that the innate immune responses play an important role in the disease development. A dysregulated inflammatory state has been proposed as a key driver of clinical complications in COVID-19, with a potential detrimental role of granulocytes. However, a com-prehensive phenotypic description of circulating granulocytes in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected patients is lacking. In this study, we used high-dimensional flow cytometry for granulocyte immunophenotyping in peripheral blood collected from COVID-19 patients during acute and conva-lescent phases. Severe COVID-19 was associated with increased levels of both mature and immature neutrophils, and decreased counts of eosinophils and basophils. Distinct immunotypes were evident in COVID-19 patients, with altered expression of several receptors involved in activation, adhesion, and migration of gran-ulocytes (e.g., CD62L, CD11a/b, CD69, CD63, CXCR4). Paired sampling revealed recovery and phenotypic restoration of the granulocytic signature in the convalescent phase. The identified granulocyte immunotypes correlated with distinct sets of soluble inflammatory markers, supporting pathophysiologic relevance. Furthermore, clini-cal features, including multiorgan dysfunction and respiratory func-tion, could be predicted using combined laboratory measurements and immunophenotyping. This study provides a comprehensive granulocyte characterization in COVID-19 and reveals specific immu-notypes with potential predictive value for key clinical features associated with COVID-19.

Automated summary

This study utilized high-dimensional flow cytometry to analyze the immunophenotyping of granulocytes in COVID-19 patients, revealing increased levels of neutrophils and decreased counts of eosinophils and basophils in severe cases. Different immunotypes were associated with distinct sets of inflammatory markers and could predict key clinical features of the disease, suggesting potential value in clinical management.