Title: Single cell analysis of mild and severe paediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection in nasal epithelium and blood -understanding infectivity, progression and disease severity
Funder: Action Medical Research

Abstract: Background_x000D_ During the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly became apparent that, in general, children are less commonly affected by the virus than adults. Children who do test positive usually have relatively mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. This research team has already shown that, in adults, the receptor by which the virus gains entry into the body is present in greatest numbers in the nose. It is not known if there are fewer of these receptors in children and/or if children have a different immune response compared to adults. To address this, these researchers have already collected nasal and blood samples from a wide range of COVID-negative children of all ages and have started to look at genetic changes in cells over time._x000D_ _x000D_ The research project_x000D_ In order to maximise the scientific and patient benefit of their work, the team now wants to include COVID-positive children in their study. They plan to recruit newly diagnosed children of all ages admitted to four large hospitals in the UK during the second wave of the pandemic. They will then be able to compare the results of cell studies in samples from COVID-positive and COVID-negative children and adults. These results will be combined with those of their already-established collaborators in Europe and the USA for wide reaching scientific and patient benefit. This project has the potential to be of immediate and practical benefit to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic by identifying immune characteristics specific to mildly affected children which could be exploited to prevent or modify the disease in adults and severely affected children. In the longer term, a better understanding of the infection route, including why children have been affected so much less frequently than adults, could help guide public health preparations for future pandemics. _x000D_

Lay abstract: Background_x000D_ During the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly became apparent that, in general, children are less commonly affected by the virus than adults. Children who do test positive usually have relatively mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. This research team has already shown that, in adults, the receptor by which the virus gains entry into the body is present in greatest numbers in the nose. It is not known if there are fewer of these receptors in children and/or if children have a different immune response compared to adults. To address this, these researchers have already collected nasal and blood samples from a wide range of COVID-negative children of all ages and have started to look at genetic changes in cells over time._x000D_ _x000D_ The research project_x000D_ In order to maximise the scientific and patient benefit of their work, the team now wants to include COVID-positive children in their study. They plan to recruit newly diagnosed children of all ages admitted to four large hospitals in the UK during the second wave of the pandemic. They will then be able to compare the results of cell studies in samples from COVID-positive and COVID-negative children and adults. These results will be combined with those of their already-established collaborators in Europe and the USA for wide reaching scientific and patient benefit. This project has the potential to be of immediate and practical benefit to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic by identifying immune characteristics specific to mildly affected children which could be exploited to prevent or modify the disease in adults and severely affected children. In the longer term, a better understanding of the infection route, including why children have been affected so much less frequently than adults, could help guide public health preparations for future pandemics. _x000D_

Research activity codes: 2.1 BIOLOGICAL AND ENDOGENOUS FACTORS
Health categories: INFECTION