Lymphopenia predicts disease severity of COVID-19: a descriptive and predictive study

Li Tan; Qi Wang; Duanyang Zhang; Jinya Ding; Qianchuan Huang; Yi-Quan Tang; Qiongshu Wang; Hongming Miao

Lymphocytes play a decisive role in maintaining immune homeostasis and inflammatory response throughout the body. Understanding the mechanism of reduced blood lymphocyte levels is expected to provide an effective strategy for the treatment of COVID-19. We speculated four potential mechanisms leading to lymphocyte deficiency. (1) The virus might directly infect lymphocytes, resulting in lymphocyte death. Lymphocytes express the coronavirus receptor ACE2 and may be a direct target of viruses. 9 (2) The virus might directly destroy lymphatic organs. Acute lymphocyte decline might be related to lymphocytic dysfunction, and the direct damage of novel coronavirus virus to organs such as thymus and spleen cannot be ruled out.