Abstract
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease with high mortality (12%-30%). The mechanism by which the SFTS bunyavirus (SFTSV) causes severe illness remains unclear. To evaluate the phenotypic and functional characteristics of the NK cell subsets in SFTS patients, twenty-nine SFTS patients were sequentially sampled from admission until recovery. Phenotypic and functional characteristics of NK cell subsets in circulating blood were analysed via flow cytometry. Then, correlations between NK cell subset frequencies and the SFTS index (SFTSI) were evaluated in all SFTS patients (15 mild, 14 severe) upon admission. The frequencies of CD56dimCD16+ NK cells were greatly decreased in early SFTSV infection and were negatively correlated with disease severity. Additionally, higher Ki-67 and granzyme B expression and relatively lower NKG2A expression in CD56dimCD16+ NK cells were observed in acute infection. Moreover, the effector function of CD56dim NK cells was increased in the acute phase compared with the recovery phase in nine severe SFTS patients. Additionally, interleukin (IL)-15, interferon (IFN)-α, IL-18 and IFN-γ secretion was markedly increased during early infection. Collectively, despite depletion of CD56dimCD16+ NK cells, activation and functional enhancement of CD56dimCD16+ NK cells were still observed, suggesting their involvement in defence against early SFTSV infection.