% IMPORTANT: The following is UTF-8 encoded. This means that in the presence % of non-ASCII characters, it will not work with BibTeX 0.99 or older. % Instead, you should use an up-to-date BibTeX implementation like “bibtex8” or % “biber”. @ARTICLE{Rttele:300265, author = {F. Röttele and A. Zollner and C. Mogler and M. Yuksel and C. Arikan and V. Karl and J. H. Aberle and S. W. Aberle and H. Kogler and A. Vécsei and J. Vodopiutz and H. Salié and A. Gräser and L. Krimmel and P. Martin and E. Lurz and F. I. Maier and L. Woelfle and S. Nobre and I. Goncalves and L. Kern and M. Schwemmle and T. Boettler and M. Hofmann and P. Hasselblatt and R. Thimme and H. Tilg and T. Müller and G. F. Vogel and B. Bengsch$^*$}, title = {{C}haracteristic immune cell interactions in livers of children with acute hepatitis revealed by spatial single-cell analysis identify a possible postacute sequel of {COVID}-19.}, journal = {Gut}, volume = {74}, number = {9}, issn = {0017-5749}, address = {London}, publisher = {BMJ Publishing Group}, reportid = {DKFZ-2025-00718}, pages = {1486-1499}, year = {2025}, note = {2025 Aug 7;74(9):1486-1499}, abstract = {A rise in paediatric cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin (AHUO) was observed in 2022, some requiring liver transplantation. A link to adeno-associated virus 2 infection and CD4+T-cell mediated disease was reported in cohorts in the UK and USA but does not explain all cases.To determine the intrahepatic immune cell interactions in the inflamed liver and a possible contribution of SARS-CoV-2 infection.Patients with acute non-A non-E hepatitis (10/12 AHUO, 2/12 subacute) during February 2022-December 2022 undergoing liver biopsy were recruited in a European patient cohort. Hepatological, virological, histopathological and highly multiplexed spatial and single-cell analyses of liver biopsies were performed.Patients were negative for adenoviral and SARS-CoV-2 PCR. Three patients had a positive adenoviral serology and 10/12 patients had a history or serological evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Imaging mass cytometry identified significant intrahepatic immune infiltration with an enrichment of CD8+T-cells. The highest CD8 infiltration and concomitant peripheral immune activation were observed in patients with the most severe hepatitis. CD8+T-cell infiltration was connected to histomorphological interface hepatitis and bridging necrosis. Cellular neighbourhood analysis indicated disease-associated microanatomic interactions between CX3CR1+ endothelial and myeloid cell populations, interacting with effector CD8+T-cells suggesting a pathogenic cellular triad. Of note, we detected intrahepatic SARS-CoV-2 antigens in ACE2-expressing cells in the areas with significant pathology in 11/12 samples using several different detection methods. 10/12 patients were treated with corticosteroid therapy and no liver transplantation was required.We identified a possible manifestation of an immune-mediated postacute sequel to COVID-19 associated with a characteristic immune infiltrate in children with AHUO. COVID-19 testing should be considered in paediatric AHUO.}, keywords = {ACUTE HEPATITIS (Other) / COVID-19 (Other) / IMMUNOHISTOPATHOLOGY (Other) / PAEDIATRIC HEPATOLOGY (Other) / T LYMPHOCYTES (Other)}, cin = {FR01}, ddc = {610}, cid = {I:(DE-He78)FR01-20160331}, pnm = {899 - ohne Topic (POF4-899)}, pid = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-899}, typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16}, pubmed = {pmid:40187893}, doi = {10.1136/gutjnl-2024-333880}, url = {https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/300265}, }