Higher COVID-19 pneumonia risk associated with anti-IFN-α than with anti-IFN-ω auto-Abs in children

We found that 19 (10.4%) of 183 unvaccinated children hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia had autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I IFNs (IFN-alpha 2 in 10 patients: IFN-alpha 2 only in three, IFN-alpha 2 plus IFN-omega in five, and IFN-alpha 2, IFN-omega plus IFN-beta in two; IFN-omega only in nine patients). Seven children (3.8%) had Abs neutralizing at least 10 ng/ml of one IFN, whereas the other 12 (6.6%) had Abs neutralizing only 100 pg/ml. The auto-Abs neutralized both unglycosylated and glycosylated IFNs. We also detected auto-Abs neutralizing 100 pg/ml IFN-alpha 2 in 4 of 2,267 uninfected children (0.2%) and auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-omega in 45 children (2%). The odds ratios (ORs) for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia were, therefore, higher for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-alpha 2 only (OR [95% CI] = 67.6 [5.7-9,196.6]) than for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-. only (OR [95% CI] = 2.6 [1.2-5.3]). ORs were also higher for auto-Abs neutralizing high concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 12.9 [4.6-35.9]) than for those neutralizing low concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 5.5 [3.1-9.6]) of IFN-omega and/or IFN-alpha 2

Neutralizing IFN-γ autoantibodies are rare and pathogenic in HLA-DRB1*15:02 or 16:02 individuals.

BACKGROUNDWeakly virulent environmental mycobacteria (EM) can cause severe disease in HLA-DRB1*15:02 or 16:02 adults harboring neutralizing anti-IFN-γ autoantibodies (nAIGAs). The overall prevalence of nAIGAs in the general population is unknown, as are the penetrance of nAIGAs in HLA-DRB1*15:02 or 16:02 individuals and the proportion of patients with unexplained, adult-onset EM infections carrying nAIGAs.METHODSThis study analyzed the detection and neutralization of anti-IFN-γ autoantibodies (auto-Abs) from 8,430 healthy individuals of the general population, 257 HLA-DRB1*15:02 or 16:02 carriers, 1,063 patients with autoimmune disease, and 497 patients with unexplained severe disease due to EM.RESULTSWe found that anti-IFN-γ auto-Abs detected in 4,148 of 8,430 healthy individuals (49.2%) from the general population of an unknown HLA-DRB1 genotype were not neutralizing. Moreover, we did not find nAIGAs in 257 individuals carrying HLA-DRB1* 15:02 or 16:02. Additionally, nAIGAs were absent in 1,063 patients with an autoimmune disease. Finally, 7 of 497 patients (1.4%) with unexplained severe disease due to EM harbored nAIGAs.CONCLUSIONThese findings suggest that nAIGAs are isolated and that their penetrance in HLA-DRB1*15:02 or 16:02 individuals is low, implying that they may be triggered by rare germline or somatic variants. In contrast, the risk of mycobacterial disease in patients with nAIGAs is high, confirming that these nAIGAs are the cause of EM disease.FUNDINGThe Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Rockefeller University, the St. Giles Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (R01AI095983 and U19AIN1625568), the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program (UL1 TR001866), the French National Research Agency (ANR) under the Investments for the Future program (ANR-10-IAHU-01), the Integrative Biology of Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory of Excellence (ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID), ANR-GENMSMD (ANR-16-CE17-0005-01), ANR-MAFMACRO (ANR-22-CE92-0008), ANRSECTZ170784, the French Foundation for Medical Research (FRM) (EQU201903007798), the ANRS-COV05, ANR GENVIR (ANR-20-CE93-003), and ANR AI2D (ANR-22-CE15-0046) projects, the ANR-RHU program (ANR-21-RHUS-08-COVIFERON), the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 824110 (EASI-genomics), the Square Foundation, Grandir - Fonds de solidarité pour lenfance, the Fondation du Souffle, the SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science, the Battersea & Bowery Advisory Group, William E. Ford, General Atlantics Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gabriel Caillaux, General Atlantics Co-President, Managing Director, and Head of business in EMEA, and the General Atlantic Foundation, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) and of Paris Cité University. JR was supported by the INSERM PhD program for doctors of pharmacy (poste daccueil INSERM). JR and TLV were supported by the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation and the MD-PhD program of the Imagine Institute. MO was supported by the David Rockefeller Graduate Program, the Funai Foundation for Information Technology (FFIT), the Honjo International Scholarship Foundation (HISF), and the New York Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Society (HNMS)

Higher COVID-19 pneumonia risk associated with anti-IFN-α than with anti-IFN-ω auto-Abs in children

We found that 19 (10.4%) of 183 unvaccinated children hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia had autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I IFNs (IFN-alpha 2 in 10 patients: IFN-alpha 2 only in three, IFN-alpha 2 plus IFN-omega in five, and IFN-alpha 2, IFN-omega plus IFN-beta in two; IFN-omega only in nine patients). Seven children (3.8%) had Abs neutralizing at least 10 ng/ml of one IFN, whereas the other 12 (6.6%) had Abs neutralizing only 100 pg/ml. The auto-Abs neutralized both unglycosylated and glycosylated IFNs. We also detected auto-Abs neutralizing 100 pg/ml IFN-alpha 2 in 4 of 2,267 uninfected children (0.2%) and auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-omega in 45 children (2%). The odds ratios (ORs) for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia were, therefore, higher for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-alpha 2 only (OR [95% CI] = 67.6 [5.7-9,196.6]) than for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-. only (OR [95% CI] = 2.6 [1.2-5.3]). ORs were also higher for auto-Abs neutralizing high concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 12.9 [4.6-35.9]) than for those neutralizing low concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 5.5 [3.1-9.6]) of IFN-omega and/or IFN-alpha 2