Longitudinal transcriptional changes reveal genes from the natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity pathway as critical players underlying COVID-19 progression

Abstract

Patients present a wide range of clinical severities in response SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the underlying molecular and cellular reasons why clinical outcomes vary so greatly within the population remains unknown. Here, we report that negative clinical outcomes in severely ill patients were associated with divergent RNA transcriptome profiles in peripheral immune cells compared with mild cases during the first weeks after disease onset. Protein-protein interaction analysis indicated that early-responding cytotoxic NK cells were associated with an effective clearance of the virus and a less severe outcome. This innate immune response was associated with the activation of select cytokine-cytokine receptor pathways and robust Th1/Th2 cell differentiation profiles. In contrast, severely ill patients exhibited a dysregulation between innate and adaptive responses affiliated with divergent Th1/Th2 profiles and negative outcomes. This knowledge forms the basis of clinical triage that may be used to preemptively detect high-risk patients before life-threatening outcomes ensue. Highlights- Mild COVID-19 patients displayed an early transcriptional commitment with NK cell function, whereas severe patients do so with neutrophil function. - The identified co-expressed genes give insights into a coordinated transcriptional program of NK cell cytotoxic activity being associated with mild patients. - Key checkpoints of NK cell cytotoxicity that were enriched in mild patients include: KLRD1, CD247, and IFNG. - The early innate immune response related to NK cells connects with the Th1/Th2 adaptive immune responses, supporting their relevance in COVID-19 progression.