COVID-19-induced “acute respiratory distress syndrome” (ARDS) is associated with prolonged respiratory failure and high mortality, but the mechanistic basis of lung injury remains incompletely understood. Here, we analyze pulmonary immune responses and lung pathology in two cohorts of patients with COVID-19 ARDS using functional single-cell genomics, immunohistology, and electron microscopy. We describe an accumulation of CD163-expressing monocyte-derived macrophages that acquired a profibrotic transcriptional phenotype during COVID-19 ARDS. Gene set enrichment and computational data integration revealed a significant similarity between COVID-19-associated macrophages and profibrotic macrophage populations identified in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. COVID-19 ARDS was associated with clinical, radiographic, histopathological, and ultrastructural hallmarks of pulmonary fibrosis. Exposure of human monocytes to SARS-CoV-2, but not influenza A virus or viral RNA analogs, was sufficient to induce a similar profibrotic phenotype in vitro. In conclusion, we demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 triggers profibrotic macrophage responses and pronounced fibroproliferative ARDS.
FörderungenGerman Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Deutsche For-schungsgemeinschaft (DFG) BMBF Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wurzburg German Network University Medicine DEFEAT PANDEMIcs OrganoStrat NAPKON BMBF CAPSyS CAPSyS-COVID SYMPATH PROVID RECAST RAPID-consortia national research node MSTARS EU Horizon 2020 European Research Council Berlin University Alliance German Registry of COVID-19 Au-topsies (DeRegCOVID) Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) Medical Faculty of RWTH Aachen University Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) PA-COVID-19 Department of Genomics & Immunoregulation at LIMES Institute IZKF at University Hospital Wurzburg govern-ment of Bavaria (Bayerische Staatsregierung Jurgen Manchot Foundation Germany's Excellence Strategy BIH-ChariteDigital Clinician Scientist Program