ArticlePloS one2025
Induction of an early IFN-γ cellular response and high plasma levels of SDF-1α are inversely associated with COVID-19 severity and residence in rural areas in Kenyan patients.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pre-COVID-19 ex vivo cross-reactive IFN-γ cellular response to SARS-CoV-2 spike overlapping peptides is more prevalent among Kenyan compared to Swedish adults.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- A narrative review of heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes and vaccine efficacy: strategizing pandemic preparedness in Africa.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Rethinking the evidence on COVID-19 in Africa.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionCOVID-19 was less severe in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) compared with Europe and North America. It is unclear whether these differences could be explained immunologically. Here we determined levels of ex vivo SARS-CoV-2 peptide-specific IFN-γ producing cells, and plasma cytokines and chemokines over the first month of COVID-19 diagnosis among Kenyan COVID-19 patients from urban and rural areas.
methodsBetween June 2020 and August 2022, we recruited and longitudinally monitored 188 COVID-19 patients from two regions in Kenya, Nairobi (urban, n = 152) and Kilifi (rural, n = 36), with varying disease severity - severe, mild/moderate, and asymptomatic. IFN-γ secreting cells were enumerated at 0-, 7-, 14- and 28-days post diagnosis by an ex vivo enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assay following in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with overlapping peptides from several SARS-CoV-2 proteins. A multiplexed binding assay was used to measure levels of 22 plasma cytokines and chemokines.
resultsHigher frequencies of IFN-γ-secreting cells against SARS-CoV-2 spike peptides were observed on the day of diagnosis among asymptomatic compared to patients with severe COVID-19. Higher concentrations of 17 of the 22 cytokines and chemokines measured were positively associated with severe disease, particularly interleukin (IL)-8, IL-18 and IL-1ra (p < 0.0001), while a lower concentration of SDF-1α was associated with severe disease (p < 0.0001). Concentrations of 8 and 16 cytokines and chemokines including IL-18 were higher among Nairobi asymptomatic and mild patients compared to their respective Kilifi counterparts. Conversely, concentrations for SDF-1α were higher in rural Kilifi compared to Nairobi (p = 0.012).
conclusionIn Kenya, as seen elsewhere, pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were associated with severe COVID-19, while an early IFN-γ cellular response to overlapping SARS-CoV-2 spike peptides was associated with reduced risk of disease. Living in urban Nairobi (compared with rural Kilifi) was associated with increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.