1. Academic Validation
  2. Platelets mediate inflammatory monocyte activation by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

Platelets mediate inflammatory monocyte activation by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

  • J Clin Invest. 2022 Feb 15;132(4):e150101. doi: 10.1172/JCI150101.
Tianyang Li 1 Yang Yang 1 Yongqi Li 1 Zhengmin Wang 1 Faxiang Ma 1 Runqi Luo 2 Xiaoming Xu 2 Guo Zhou 2 Jianhua Wang 3 Junqi Niu 4 Guoyue Lv 4 Ian N Crispe 5 Zhengkun Tu 1 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
  • 2 Department of Infectious Disease, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
  • 3 Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
  • 4 Institute of Liver Diseases, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
  • 5 Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Abstract

Infection with SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, causes mild to moderate disease in most patients but carries a risk of morbidity and mortality. Seriously affected individuals manifest disorders of hemostasis and a cytokine storm, but it is not understood how these manifestations of severe COVID-19 are linked. Here, we showed that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein engaged the CD42b receptor to activate platelets via 2 distinct signaling pathways and promoted platelet-monocyte communication through the engagement of P Selectin/PGSL-1 and CD40L/CD40, which led to proinflammatory cytokine production by monocytes. These results explain why hypercoagulation, monocyte activation, and a cytokine storm are correlated in patients severely affected by COVID-19 and suggest a potential target for therapeutic intervention.

Keywords

COVID-19; Inflammation; Monocytes; Platelets.

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