Leukocyte surface activation markers were studied in serum from peripheral blood samples, collected from the 1st (April–May, 2009) and 2nd (October 2009–February 2010) pandemic waves. Patients with confirmed influenza A(H1N1)pdm2009 virus infection (H1N1), influenza-like illness (ILI) or healthy donors (H) were analyzed.
Serum IL-6, IL-4 and IL-10 levels were elevated in H1N1 patients from the 2nd pandemic wave. Additionally, the frequency of helper and cytotoxic T cells was reduced during the 1st wave, whereas CD69 expression in helper T cells was increased in the 2nd wave for both H1N1 and ILI patients. In contrast, CD62L expression in granulocytes from the ILI group was increased in both waves but in monocytes only in the 2nd wave. Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells (TREM)-1 expression was elevated only in H1N1 patients at the 1st wave.
Our results show that during the 2009 influenza pandemic a T cell activation phenotype is observed in a wave-dependent fashion, with an expanded activation in the 2nd wave, compared to the 1st wave. Conversely, granulocyte and monocyte activation is infection-dependent. This evidence collected at the pandemic epicenter in 2009 could help us understand the differences in the underlying cellular mechanisms that drive the wave-related immune profile behaviors that occur against influenza viruses during pandemics.