(1) Background: statins have been considered an attractive class of drugs in the pharmacological setting of COVID-19 due to their pleiotropic properties and their use correlates with decreased mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, it is well known that statins, which block the mevalonate pathway, affect ?? T lymphocyte activation. As ?? T cells participate in the inflammatory process of COVID-19, we have investigated the therapeutical potential of statins as a tool to inhibit ?? T cell pro-inflammatory activities; (2) Methods: we harvested peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from COVID-19 patients with mild clinical manifestations, COVID-19 recovered patients, and healthy controls. We performed ex vivo flow cytometry analysis to study ?? T cell frequency, phenotype, and exhaustion status. PBMCs were treated with Atorvastatin followed by non-specific and specific stimulation, to evaluate the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines; (3) Results: COVID-19 patients had a lower frequency of circulating V?2+ T lymphocytes but showed a pronounced pro-inflammatory profile, which was inhibited by in vitro treatment with statins; (4) Conclusions: the in vitro capacity of statins to inhibit V?2+ T lymphocytes in COVID-19 patients highlights a new potential biological function of these drugs and supports their therapeutical use in these patients.

Phenotypical and Functional Alteration of ?? T Lymphocytes in COVID-19 Patients: Reversal by Statins

Lo Presti E;Giannitrapani L;
2022

Abstract

(1) Background: statins have been considered an attractive class of drugs in the pharmacological setting of COVID-19 due to their pleiotropic properties and their use correlates with decreased mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, it is well known that statins, which block the mevalonate pathway, affect ?? T lymphocyte activation. As ?? T cells participate in the inflammatory process of COVID-19, we have investigated the therapeutical potential of statins as a tool to inhibit ?? T cell pro-inflammatory activities; (2) Methods: we harvested peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from COVID-19 patients with mild clinical manifestations, COVID-19 recovered patients, and healthy controls. We performed ex vivo flow cytometry analysis to study ?? T cell frequency, phenotype, and exhaustion status. PBMCs were treated with Atorvastatin followed by non-specific and specific stimulation, to evaluate the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines; (3) Results: COVID-19 patients had a lower frequency of circulating V?2+ T lymphocytes but showed a pronounced pro-inflammatory profile, which was inhibited by in vitro treatment with statins; (4) Conclusions: the in vitro capacity of statins to inhibit V?2+ T lymphocytes in COVID-19 patients highlights a new potential biological function of these drugs and supports their therapeutical use in these patients.
2022
Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica -IRIB
?? T cells
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 infection
statin
mevalonate pathway
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Descrizione: Phenotypical and Functional Alteration of ?? T Lymphocytes in COVID-19 Patients: Reversal by Statins
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14243/416142
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