A possible therapeutic agent for hyperinflammation in COVID‐19: C‐Vx directs T cells to display an anti‐inflammatory immune response

Abstract

A possible therapeutic agent for hyperinflammation in COVID‐19: C‐Vx directs T cells to display an anti‐inflammatory immune responseIlhan Tahrali1, Nilgun Okumus Akdeniz1, Fatma Betul Oktelik1, Umut Can Kucuksezer1, Esin Aktas Cetin1, Yelda Ogutmen2, Heba Hamida3, Mustafa Oral Oncul2, Gunnur Deniz11Istanbul University, Aziz Sancar Institute of Experimental Medicine, Department of Immunology, Istanbul, Turkey2Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey3Hamida Laboratory Inc. California, USA and Miracle Labs, Istanbul, TurkeyThe Covid‐19 pandemic, caused by the SARS‐CoV 2 virus, has affected approximately 170 million people and caused the death of 3.5 million people worldwide as of today. In addition to the vaccines developed and applied to date, different treatment options are also being investigated. C‐Vx, which was first developed by Hamida Pharma‐USA in cooperation with Miracle Labs‐Turkey for cancer treatment, has been changed in the formula with the emergence of the COVID‐19 pandemic and the possibility of using it as a simultaneous treatment option for COVID‐19 has been investigated. This study aimed to investigate the effects of C‐Vx on various cytokine levels of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells of patients with COVID‐19. For this purpose, heparinized‐peripheral blood samples were obtained from COVID‐19 patients (n=31; mild: 10, moderate: 11, severe: 10) and healthy subjects (n=10). PBMCs were isolated and cultured with/without C‐Vx for 72 hours and then stimulated with Cell Stimulation Cocktail for 4 hours. Following culture, cells were labeled with anti‐CD3, ‐CD4 and ‐CD8 mAbs prior to intracellular staining for IFN‐γ, IL‐4, IL‐10, IL‐17 and TNF‐α cytokines. CD3, CD4 and CD8 expression of patients and healthy controls did not change with C‐Vx. While IFN‐γ andIL‐17 levels of CD4⁺ T cells as well as IFN‐γ and TNF‐α levels of CD8⁺ T cells were reduced, IL‐4 and IL‐10 levels of both CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells were increased by C‐Vx stimulation. These findings suggest C‐Vx driving CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells to exhibit an anti‐inflammatory rather than a pro‐inflammatory immune response.Keywords: Adaptive immunity, cytokines and mediators, immune regulation and therapy, infectious disease