{"id":72118,"date":"2026-08-04T01:25:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/2026\/08\/04\/dysfunctional-neutrophil-response-in-covid-19-infection-varies-by-subtypeonn-shaun-thein-on-3-de-august-de-2026-at-1000\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T01:25:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:25:02","slug":"dysfunctional-neutrophil-response-in-covid-19-infection-varies-by-subtypeonn-shaun-thein-on-3-de-august-de-2026-at-1000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/2026\/08\/04\/dysfunctional-neutrophil-response-in-covid-19-infection-varies-by-subtypeonn-shaun-thein-on-3-de-august-de-2026-at-1000\/","title":{"rendered":"Dysfunctional neutrophil response in COVID-19 infection varies by subtype\u200bOnn Shaun Thein   on 3 de August de 2026 at 10:00"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><b>J Leukoc Biol<\/b>. 2026 Aug 3:qiag107. doi: 10.1093\/jleuko\/qiag107. Online ahead of print.<\/p>\n<p><b>ABSTRACT<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The SARS-CoV-2 virus significantly evolved with several new strains identified. Transmissibility has increased with each strain, corresponding with a decrease in mortality. We previously demonstrated novel dysfunctional neutrophil responses in alpha COVID-19 patients compared to community acquired pneumonia controls. We investigated if strain variation altered our previously observed neutrophil dysfunction. Patients with COVID-19 not requiring intensive care were recruited between January 2021 and May 2022 from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham; 41 patients with alpha, 32 delta and 14 omicron. Neutrophils isolated from whole blood were investigated for phagocytosis of labelled Streptococcus pneumoniae, transwell migration towards interleukin-8, neutrophil extracellular (NET) formation and surface phenotype. Neutrophil phagocytosis was significantly increased in delta variant (vs alpha p=0.0012, vs omicron p=0.0209). Transwell migration was also significantly reduced in omicron patients (vs alpha p=0.0002, vs delta p=0.0129). There was a significant reduction in NET formation from omicron patients (vs alpha p=0.0031, vs delta p=0.0231). Compared to alpha patients, neutrophils from omicron patients had reduced expression of CD10 (p=0.0004), CD54 (p=0.0015), CD62L (p=0.0013) and CD11c (p&lt;0.0001). CXCR2 expression was higher in neutrophils from omicron compared to alpha patients (p=0.0001). Neutrophil function and phenotype differ between the variants of COVID-19 infection in hospitalised patients. Neutrophil changes suggest more accurate migration in omicron patients, leading to decreased neutrophil host-mediated tissue damage. This may contribute to the overall milder clinical omicron phenotype. Ongoing research and review of therapies remains important alongside viral evolution.<\/p>\n<p>PMID:<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/42546142\/?utm_source=SimplePie&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_content=8405628&amp;ff=20260803192501&amp;v=2.20.0.post5+40e1b98\">42546142<\/a> | DOI:<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/jleuko\/qiag107\">10.1093\/jleuko\/qiag107<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>J Leukoc Biol. 2026 Aug 3:qiag107. doi: 10.1093\/jleuko\/qiag107. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT The SARS-CoV-2 virus significantly evolved with several new strains identified. Transmissibility has increased with each strain, corresponding with a decrease in mortality. We previously demonstrated novel dysfunctional neutrophil responses in alpha COVID-19 patients compared to community acquired pneumonia controls. We investigated if &#8230; <a title=\"Dysfunctional neutrophil response in COVID-19 infection varies by subtype\u200bOnn Shaun Thein   on 3 de August de 2026 at 10:00\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/2026\/08\/04\/dysfunctional-neutrophil-response-in-covid-19-infection-varies-by-subtypeonn-shaun-thein-on-3-de-august-de-2026-at-1000\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Dysfunctional neutrophil response in COVID-19 infection varies by subtype\u200bOnn Shaun Thein   on 3 de August de 2026 at 10:00\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal-of-leukocyte-biology","category-publicaciones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}