Role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of severe lung damage in COVID-19 patients

BACKGROUND: There is still insufficient knowledge with regard to the potential involvement of mast cells (MCs) and their mediators in the pathology of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, our study aimed to investigate the role of MCs, their activation and protease profiles in the pathogenesis of early and late lung damage in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded lung specimens from 30 patients who died from COVID-19 and 9 controls were used for histological detection of MCs and their proteases (tryptase, chymase) followed by morphometric quantification. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated increased numbers of MCs at early stage and further augmentation of MCs number during the late stage of alveolar damage in COVID-19 patients, as compared to the control group. Importantly, the percentage of degranulated (activated) MCs was higher during both stages of alveolar lesions in comparison to the controls. While there was no prominent alteration in the profile of tryptase-positive MCs, our data revealed a significant elevation in the number of chymase-positive MCs in the lungs of COVID-19 patients, compared to the controls. CONCLUSIONS: MCs are characterized by dysregulated accumulation and increased activation in the lungs of patients suffering from COVID-19. However, future profound studies are needed for precise analysis of the role of these immune cells in the context of novel coronavirus disease.