Dynamic Differences of Immunological Parameters Between Severe and Non-Severe COVID-19 Patients

Objective: We aimed to compare the dynamic differences of immunological parameters between severe and non-severe COVID-19 patients. Methods: The cytokine profiles and lymphocyte subsets of 664 patients with COVID-19 (31 severe cases and 633 non-severe cases) were longitudinally analyzed. Results: Compared with non-severe cases, severe cases had higher age (64 vs 40 years, p < 0.001), more common comorbidities (74.2% vs 20.5%, p < 0.001) and lymphopenia (0.7 vs 1.4×109 /L, p < 0.001). Severe cases had markedly higher levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 than non-severe cases from baseline to 35 days after admission (p 0.05). The absolute counts of lymphocytes, CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD45+ T cells were markedly lower in severe COVID-19 patients compared with that in non-severe cases from baseline to 35 days after admission (p 0.05). The decrease of T lymphocyte subsets reached its peak at day 1 to 3 after admission, and gradually increased during the follow-up period in the non-severe group; however, always sustained at low levels in the severe group. Conclusion: The dynamic changes of cytokine profiles and T lymphocyte subsets are related with COVID-19 progression.Funding Statement: This study was supported by grant NO.17411969700 from Shanghai Association for Science and Technology and grant NO.19YF1441200 from Shanghai Sailing Plan Program.Declaration of Interests: None.Ethics Approval Statement: The verbal informed consents were obtained from all participants. The ethics committee of Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center approved this study. This study was performed in accordance with the declaration of Helsinki.