An increase in NK like T cells (NKT;
CD3+CD56+) in patients with COVID-19
Although CD3 positivity is accepted as a marker of adaptive T cells,
CD3+CD56+ T cells represent a
heterogeneous group of innate cells with their expression of restricted
range of T cell receptor (TCR) that play roles in the immune response to
tumors and pathogens(19, 20). In our study, the percentage of
CD3+CD56+ population was found to be
high in COVID-19 patients compared to controls (6.7%±4.3 vs 1.9%±2;
p<0.01, Figure 6) No difference was found among patients.
Interestingly, we found that CD25 expression of T cells was very low
(CD25 <15% on T cells) in all COVID-19 patients (data not
shown).