Probing SARS-CoV-2-positive plasma to identify potential factors correlating with mild COVID-19 in Ghana, West Africa

Abstract

Background West Africa has recorded a relatively higher proportion of asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases than the rest of the world, and West Africa-specific host factors could play a role in this discrepancy. Here, we assessed the association between COVID-19 severity among Ghanaians with their immune profiles and ABO blood groups. Methods Plasma samples were obtained from Ghanaians PCR-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive individuals. The participants were categorized into symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. Cytokine profiling and antibody quantification were performed using Luminex™ multiplex assay whereas antigen-driven agglutination assay was used to assess the ABO blood groups. Immune profile levels between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups were compared using the two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test. Multiple comparisons of cytokine levels among and between days were tested using Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn’s post hoc test. Correlations within ABO blood grouping (O’s and non-O’s) and between cytokines were determined using Spearman correlations. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of various cytokines with asymptomatic phenotype. Results There was a trend linking blood group O to reduced disease severity, but this association was not statistically significant. Generally, symptomatic patients displayed significantly (p < 0.05) higher cytokine levels compared to asymptomatic cases with exception of Eotaxin, which was positively associated with asymptomatic cases. There were also significant (p < 0.05) associations between other immune markers (IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1Ra) and disease severity. Cytokines’ clustering patterns differ between symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. We observed a steady decrease in the concentration of most cytokines over time, while anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels were stable for at least a month, regardless of the COVID-19 status. Conclusions The findings suggest that genetic background and pre-existing immune response patterns may in part shape the nature of the symptomatic response against COVID-19 in a West African population. This study offers clear directions to be explored further in larger studies.

Immunological insights into COVID-19 in Southern Nigeria

“…Our data revealed a similar magnitude of binding and neutralizing antibody responses to both S-RBD and N antigens of SARS-CoV-2 from hospitalized survivors of COVID-19 and non-hospitalized asymptomatic survivors ( Figures 1A, B ). This corroborated previous seroprevalence data from both Nigeria and Ghana that identified high-binding antibody responses in asymptomatic individuals with no positive diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection ( 19 , 20 ). Here we extended these observations to demonstrate that sera from asymptomatic participants neutralized SARS-CoV-2 Spike PVs to the same level as sera from symptomatic COVID-19 survivors.…”

Upper Airway Epithelial Tissue Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Immune Signatures Associated with COVID-19 Severity in Ghanaians

“…Severe COVID-19 has been chiefly associated with inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 6 ( IL-6 ), IL-8 , and IL-10 overexpression [ 8 , 11 , 12 , 45 , 46 ]. Though Tapela et al [ 47 ] reported some association between IL-6 and IL-8 cytokine concentration in plasma samples and COVID-19 severity, the expression of these cytokines was not found to be significantly upregulated in our severe COVID-19 cohort. However, in this study, an upregulation of other pro-inflammatory cytokines, including CRNN , IL1A , IL23A , IVL , and S100A7 , was associated with severe COVID-19.…”

Negative association between ascaris lumbricoides seropositivity and Covid-19 severity: insights from a study in Benin

“…Indeed, AAMs and regulatory T-cell subsets are renowned for producing large amounts of IL-10 to maintain immune homeostasis and control host-microorganism interactions ( 52 – 55 ). This is particularly interesting in light of a recent study conducted in Ghana, which found that symptomatic COVID-19 patients generally had significantly higher cytokine levels compared to asymptomatic cases ( 56 ). This study suggests that the immune response, as indicated by cytokine levels, may play a role in the severity of symptoms ( 56 ).…”

“…This is particularly interesting in light of a recent study conducted in Ghana, which found that symptomatic COVID-19 patients generally had significantly higher cytokine levels compared to asymptomatic cases (56). This study suggests that the immune response, as indicated by cytokine levels, may play a role in the severity of symptoms (56). Although this study does not distinguish between helminth-positive and -negative COVID-19 patients, and it does not include patients with severe COVID-19, our data are largely consistent with the cytokine profile they described.…”