IP: Dr. Alberto Orfao de Matos

Resumen del proyecto: We hypothesize that patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus carry an aging-immune system - assessed by the presence of small clones of circulating B cells in peripheral blood, and the secondary immunodeficiency associated with this condition- and hence, they could develop a more aggressive disease evolving worse, due to their deficient ability to recognize new antigens. Aims: 1) to explore the presence of B-lymphoid clones (MBLlo) in blood of COVID-19 patients admitted to the Internal Medicine Department of the University Hospital of Salamanca; 2) to study the status of their immune system, using innovative tools developed by the research group that allow identifying >250 different populations of immune cells in blood; 3) to relate the above data with the clinical characteristics of patients; and 4) to identify parameters related to an aging immune system that would provide a solid basis for prognostic stratification, and clinical validation. A total of 100 patients (>50 years) diagnosed with COVID-19 disease over a period of 6-8 weeks (plus an additional 25 patients for clinical validation) will be included in the proposed pilot study. In each patient, the presence of MBL will be screened at baseline (pretreatment) and during follow-up, together with a deep dissection of immune-cell populations will be carried out in blood, using ”next generation” flow cytometry; in parallel, appropriate biochemical, serological and microbiological determinations will be performed in plasma. Clinical and evolution data of the patients will be collected, together with the biological data generated in this project.

Entidad financiadora: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación