An open resource for T cell phenotype changes in COVID-19 identifies IL-10-producing regulatory T cells as characteristic of severe cases

The pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is due, in part, to the immunological properties of the host-viral interaction. The clinical presentation varies greatly from individual to individual, with asymptomatic carriers, mild to moderate-presenting patients and severely affected patients. Variation in immune response to SARS-CoV-2 may underlie this clinical variation. Using a high dimensional systems immunology platform, we have analyzed the peripheral blood compartment of 6 healthy individuals, 23 mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients and 20 severe COVID-19 patients. We identify distinct immunological signatures in the peripheral blood of the mild-to-moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, including T cell lymphopenia, more consistent with peripheral hypo-than hyper-immune activation. Unique to the severe COVID-19 cases was a large increase in the proportion of IL-10-secreting regulatory T cells, a lineage known to possess anti-inflammatory properties in the lung. Annotated data is openly available (<ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://flowrepository.ors/experiments/2713">https://flowrepository.ors/experiments/2713</ext-link>) with clinical correlates, as a systems immunology resource for the COVID-19 research community.