SARS-CoV-2 impairs dendritic cells and regulates DC-SIGN gene expression in tissues

In severe COVID-19 cases, a decrease of conventional DCs and plasmacytoid DCs in the lung and blood was indicated. Instead, the MHC-II down-regulated immature DCs were increased in the lesion of the severe cases. This suggests that DCs in severe cases stimulate innate immune responses but fail to specifically present SARS-CoV-2 antigens.