Excess of body weight is associated with accelerated T-cell senescence in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Several risk factors have been involved in the poor clinical progression of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), including ageing, and obesity. SARS-CoV-2 may compromise lung function through cell damage and paracrine inflammation; and obesity has been associated with premature immunosenescence, microbial translocation, and dysfunctional innate immune responses leading to poor immune response against a range of viruses and bacterial infections. Here, we have comprehensively characterized the immunosenescence, microbial translocation, and immune dysregulation established in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with different degrees of body weight.

Hospitalised COVID-19 patients with overweight and obesity had similarly higher plasma LPS and sCD14 levels than controls (all p < 0.01). Patients with obesity had higher leptin levels than controls. Obesity and overweight patients had similarly higher expansions of classical monocytes and immature natural killer (NK) cells (CD56⁺CD16⁻) than controls. In contrast, reduced proportions of intermediate monocytes, mature NK cells (CD56⁺CD16⁺), and NKT were found in both groups of patients than controls. As expected, COVID-19 patients had a robust expansion of plasmablasts, contrasting to lower proportions of major T-cell subsets (CD4 + and CD8+) than controls. Concerning T-cell activation, overweight and obese patients had lower proportions of CD4⁺CD38⁺ cells than controls. Contrasting changes were reported in CD25⁺CD127^low/neg regulatory T cells, with increased and decreased proportions found in CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, respectively. There were similar proportions of T cells expressing checkpoint inhibitors across all groups. We also investigated distinct stages of T-cell differentiation (early, intermediate, and late-differentiated – TEMRA). The intermediate-differentiated CD4 + T cells and TEMRA cells (CD4⁺ and CD8⁺) were expanded in patients compared to controls. Senescent T cells can also express NK receptors (NKG2A/D), and patients had a robust expansion of CD8⁺CD57⁺NKG2A⁺ cells than controls. Unbiased immune profiling further confirmed the expansions of senescent T cells in COVID-19.

These findings suggest that dysregulated immune cells, microbial translocation, and T-cell senescence may partially explain the increased vulnerability to COVID-19 in subjects with excess of body weight.