Evaluation of Total leucocytic count and CD8+ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of COVID-19 patients as primary markers of disease severity

Shady, Raghda Raouf; Mahdi, Wafaa Khairy; Abdelraheem, Wedad Mahmoud; Bassyouni, Mohamed Ibrahim; Abdelrahim, Soha Sameh

doi:10.21608/mjmr.2023.253105.1556

Evaluation of Total leucocytic count and CD8+ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of COVID-19 patients as primary markers of disease severity

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt

² department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt

³ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt

⁴ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt

⁵ Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Egypt

10.21608/mjmr.2023.253105.1556

Abstract

Background: The novel COVID-19 virus has rapidly disseminated globally, posing a significant risk to human lives. Although some individuals may experience a minor infection, the disease can be life-threatening for many others. Thus far, it has been established that alterations in specific parameters of the laboratory immunological profile are correlated with severe instances of COVID-19. T cell-mediated immunity is crucial for the regulation of viral infections. While the natural immune response basically eliminates diseases, its over stimulation may cause significant damage and worsen the prognosis of the disease. Analysing the changes in immune cell expression can enhance our understanding of the course of COVID-19. The objective of this study was to identify the alterations in total lymphocyte count (TLC) and CD8+ T cells in COVID-19 patients across different levels of disease severity and clinical outcomes.

Methods: This case-control study included two groups of subjects: positive COVID-19 patients that were confirmed by RT-PCR (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). Detection of the expression of CD8+ was done by flowcytometry. Then all the data collected were analyzed to compare the investigated parameters in the patient group to the control group.

Results: TLC was found to be affected in COVID-19 patients, with 13.3% showing leucopenia and 53.3% showing leukocytosis. However, 33.3% of patients showed normal TLC that was correlated with their clinical classification as mild cases. Lymphopenia represented 100% in cases.

Conclusion: Changes in specific immune cells are significant in prediction of the disease severity in COVID-19.

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