ArticleNature immunology2021
Outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection is linked to MAIT cell activation and cytotoxicity.
Article in Nature immunology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 150 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
150 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 207 citations in OpenAlex.
- T-Cell Subsets and Interleukin-10 Levels Are Predictors of Severity and Mortality in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Review
- Similarities and singularities between innate-like T cell subsets in adults with type 1 diabetes.iScience · 2026Article
- Distinct CD8iScience · 2026Article
- Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) Proteins Regulate Mucosal-Associated Invariant T (MAIT) Cell Function.Immunology · 2026Article
- Mucosal-associated invariant T cells and the gut-kidney axis: a review.Clinical kidney journal · 2026Review
- Nucleocapsid protein enhances spike- and RBD-specific humoral and cellular immune responses in protein-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Possible role of pre-vaccination T-lymphocyte subpopulations in the antibody response to COVID-19 vaccines in children undergoing chemotherapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Phenotypic characterization of mucosal-associated invariant T cells in visceral leishmaniasis and HIV co-infection.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- The Central Role of Macrophages in Long COVID Pathophysiology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The High Expression of PD-1 Defines A Subpopulation of Tfh Cells Responding to COVID-19 Vaccine in Humans.Genomics, proteomics & bioinformatics · 2025Article
- Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cells: Origins, Biological Functions, Diseases, and Therapeutic Targets.MedComm · 2025Review
- Mast cells boost anti-tumor potency of MAIT cells via inflammasome-dependent secretion of IL-18.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Article
- Hantaan virus infection induces human mucosal-associated invariant T cell pyroptosis through IRE1α pathway.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Heterogeneity of T cells regulates tumor immunity mediated by Helicobacter pylori infection in gastric cancer.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- Biological functions and therapeutic applications of human mucosal-associated invariant T cells.Journal of biomedical science · 2025Review
- The Role of Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cells in Viral Infections and Their Function in Vaccine Development.Vaccines · 2025Review
- Immune Checkpoint Receptor Expression Profiles of MAIT Cells in Moderate and Severe COVID-19.Scandinavian journal of immunology · 2025Article
- Distinct MAIT cell phenotypes associated with sepsis clinical outcome in emergency department patients.Clinical & translational immunology · 2025Article
90 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
35 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Immune system dysfunction is paramount in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and fatality rate. Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T cells involved in mucosal immunity and protection against viral infections. Here, we studied the immune cell landscape, with emphasis on MAIT cells, in cohorts totaling 208 patients with various stages of disease. MAIT cell frequency is strongly reduced in blood. They display a strong activated and cytotoxic phenotype that is more pronounced in lungs. Blood MAIT cell alterations positively correlate with the activation of other innate cells, proinflammatory cytokines, notably interleukin (IL)-18, and with the severity and mortality of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. We also identified a monocyte/macrophage interferon (IFN)-α-IL-18 cytokine shift and the ability of infected macrophages to induce the cytotoxicity of MAIT cells in an MR1-dependent manner. Together, our results suggest that altered MAIT cell functions due to IFN-α-IL-18 imbalance contribute to disease severity, and their therapeutic manipulation may prevent deleterious inflammation in COVID-19 aggravation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.