MAFB shapes human monocyte–derived macrophage response to SARS-CoV-2 and controls severe COVID-19 biomarker expression

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Abstract

Monocyte-derived macrophages, the major source of pathogenic macrophages in COVID-19, are oppositely instructed by macrophage CSF (M-CSF) or granulocyte macrophage CSF (GM-CSF), which promote the generation of antiinflammatory/immunosuppressive MAFB+ (M-MØ) or proinflammatory macrophages (GM-MØ), respectively. The transcriptional profile of prevailing macrophage subsets in severe COVID-19 led us to hypothesize that MAFB shapes the transcriptome of pulmonary macrophages driving severe COVID-19 pathogenesis. We have now assessed the role of MAFB in the response of monocyte-derived macrophages to SARS-CoV-2 through genetic and pharmacological approaches, and we demonstrate that MAFB regulated the expression of the genes that define pulmonary pathogenic macrophages in severe COVID-19. Indeed, SARS-CoV-2 potentiated the expression of MAFB and MAFB-regulated genes in M-MØ and GM-MØ, where MAFB upregulated the expression of profibrotic and neutrophil-attracting factors. Thus, MAFB determines the transcriptome and functions of the monocyte-derived macrophage subsets that underlie pulmonary pathogenesis in severe COVID-19 and controls the expression of potentially useful biomarkers for COVID-19 severity.

Authors

Miriam Simón-Fuentes, Israel Ríos, Cristina Herrero, Fátima Lasala, Nuria Labiod, Joanna Luczkowiak, Emilia Roy-Vallejo, Sara Fernández de Córdoba-Oñate, Pablo Delgado-Wicke, Matilde Bustos, Elena Fernández-Ruiz, Maria Colmenares, Amaya Puig-Kröger, Rafael Delgado, Miguel A. Vega, Ángel L. Corbí, Ángeles Domínguez-Soto