Influence of SARS-CoV-2 Status and Aging on the Nasal and Fecal Immunological Profiles of Elderly Individuals Living in Nursing Homes

Abstract

In the frame of SARS-CoV-2 infection, studies regarding cytokine profiling of mucosal-related samples are scarce despite being the primary infection sites. The objective of this study was to compare the nasal and fecal inflammatory profiles of elderly individuals living in a nursing home highly affected by COVID-19 (ELD1) with those of elderly individuals living in a nursing home with no cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection (ELD2) and, also, with those of healthy SARS-CoV-2-negative younger adults (YHA). BAFF/TNFSF13B, IL6, IL10 and TNF-α (immunological hallmarks of SARS-CoV-2 infection) were the only immune factors whose concentrations were different in the three groups. Their highest concentrations were achieved in the ELD1 group. Nasal and fecal concentrations of a wide number of pro-inflammatory cytokines were similar in the ELD1 and ELD2 groups but higher than those found in the YHA samples. These results reinforce the hypothesis that immunosenescence and inflammaging rendered the elderly as a highly vulnerable population to a neo-infection, such as COVID-19, which was evidenced during the first pandemic waves.