Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2025
Separation of Immune Cell Subpopulations in Peripheral Blood Samples from Children with Infectious Mononucleosis
Published on: September 7, 2022
Unique cellular immune signatures of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
Anuradha Rajamanickam1, Pavan Kumar Nathella2, Aishwarya Venkataraman2
1National Institutes of Health-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis-International Center for Excellence in Research, Chennai, India.
Insights
Pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (MIS-C) has a unique immune cell signature. This distinct cellular profile helps differentiate MIS-C from other conditions with similar symptoms, aiding in accurate diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Clinical presentation of MIS-C often overlaps with other conditions like COVID-19, Kawasaki disease, dengue, enteric fever, and lupus erythematosus.
- Accurate differentiation is crucial for timely and appropriate patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify distinct ex-vivo cellular parameters that can differentiate MIS-C from other syndromes with overlapping clinical features.
- To characterize the immune cell profile associated with MIS-C.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of ex-vivo cellular parameters in children diagnosed with MIS-C and those with non-MIS-C conditions.
- Comparison of immune cell subsets, including T cells, B cells, monocytes, and dendritic cells.
Main Results:
- Children with MIS-C exhibited increased naïve CD8+ T cells and naïve, immature, and atypical memory B cells.
- Diminished numbers of transitional memory, stem cell memory, central and effector memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, classical, activated memory B and plasma cells, and specific monocyte and dendritic cell subsets were observed in MIS-C patients.
- These cellular alterations showed significant reversal at 6-9 months post-recovery.
Conclusions:
- MIS-C is characterized by a distinct immune cell signature.
- This cellular signature aids in distinguishing MIS-C from other syndromes with overlapping clinical presentations.
- Immune cell profiles normalize post-recovery, suggesting a dynamic immune response in MIS-C.
Abstract:
The clinical presentation of MIS-C overlaps with other infectious/non-infectious diseases such as acute COVID-19, Kawasaki disease, acute dengue, enteric fever, and systemic lupus erythematosus. We examined the ex-vivo cellular parameters with the aim of distinguishing MIS-C from other syndromes with overlapping clinical presentations. MIS-C children differed from children with non-MIS-C conditions by having increased numbers of naïve CD8+ T cells, naïve, immature and atypical memory B cells and diminished numbers of transitional memory, stem cell memory, central and effector memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, classical, activated memory B and plasma cells and monocyte (intermediate and non-classical) and dendritic cell (plasmacytoid and myeloid) subsets. All of the above alterations were significantly reversed at 6-9 months post-recovery in MIS-C. Thus, MIS-C is characterized by a distinct cellular signature that distinguishes it from other syndromes with overlapping clinical presentations. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov clinicaltrial.gov. No: NCT04844242.
