IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Immune profiling uncovers correlates of severity in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children

Immune profiling uncovers correlates of severity in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children

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Video Summary

Rob Mittleman discussed his research on why some children develop severe inflammatory disease after COVID-19, focusing on MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children). Using samples from pediatric COVID and MIS-C cohorts, his team found that MIS-C cases had elevated antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal coronaviruses, plus distinctive cytokine patterns that could distinguish MIS-C from acute COVID with good accuracy.<br /><br />A key finding was evidence for molecular mimicry: some children had autoantibodies and cross-reactive CD8 T cells that recognized both a SARS-CoV-2 epitope and a human protein, SNX8. This suggested that in a subset of MIS-C cases, the immune system may mistakenly attack the body after infection.<br /><br />He also highlighted a striking expansion of T cells using the TRBV11-2 chain in MIS-C. These cells correlated with disease severity, but follow-up work suggested they were not responding directly to SARS-CoV-2 epitopes, raising the possibility of an autoimmune trigger or a superantigen-like mechanism. Mittleman concluded that MIS-C likely involves multiple immune pathways and that his team is now exploring whether similar T-cell signatures appear in other autoimmune diseases.

Meta Tag

Date April 15, 2026 2:45 PM - 4:45 PM

Room 153C

Session Host Immune Response and Pathogenesis in Viral Respiratory Infections, Sponsored by the Intl. Soc. for Respiratory Viruses (ISRV)

Speaker Rob Mettelman

Track Viral Immunology (VIR)

Year 2026

Keywords

MIS-C

multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children

SARS-CoV-2

molecular mimicry

autoantibodies

cytokine patterns

TRBV11-2 T cells

autoimmune response

April 15, 2026 2:45 PM - 4:45 PM

153C

Host Immune Response and Pathogenesis in Viral Respiratory Infections, Sponsored by the Intl. Soc. for Respiratory Viruses (ISRV)

Rob Mettelman

Viral Immunology (VIR)

2026