Dinâmica da resposta imunológica em populações de indivíduos expostos à infecção por SARS-CoV-2 submetidos à imunização vacinal ou em evolução para Covid-19

Abstract

The clinical spectrum of COVID-19 is quite variable, and may present as asymptomatic, with mild involvement of the upper respiratory tract and progression to severe pneumonia with respiratory failure, failure and even death. The severity of the disease appears to be directly associated with aspects of the patient's immune response, and an efficient assembly of the immune response becomes essential against SARS-CoV-2 infection, demonstrating a significant relationship between the severity of the disease, the expression profile of immune cells and the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Studies suggest that SARS- CoV-2 leads to immune dysregulation, with a storm of pro-inflammatory cytokines, leading to lymphopenia, dysfunctions in lymphocytes, granulocytes and monocytes, causing great tissue destruction and clinical worsening of the patient. Vaccination has been considered the main strategy against the intense spread of the virus and is being administered to millions of individuals worldwide, including in Brazil. This study evaluated the vaccine response of two COVID-19 vaccines, CoronaVac and Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2), before and after vaccine administration, and characterized the immune response in patients with different clinical forms of COVID-19, in different populations. The results showed changes in the cellular and humoral immune response in patients who received both doses, and individuals with the severe clinical form of COVID-19 showed very significant changes in the cellular immune profile.