tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Open Forum Infect Dis
. 2024 Apr 1;11(4)
fae137.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae137. eCollection 2024 Apr. Immune Responses in Discharged COVID-19 Patients With and Without Long COVID Symptoms
Yeming Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Li Guo[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Dan Cui[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP], Hui Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Qiao Zhang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Lili Ren[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Geng Wang[SUP] 2 3 5 [/SUP], Xueyang Zhang[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Tingxuan Huang[SUP] 2 3 5 [/SUP], Lan Chen[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Lixue Huang[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Xinming Wang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Jinchuan Zhong[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Ying Wang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Hui Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jianwei Wang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Bin Cao[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
The immune mechanisms of long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) are not yet fully understood. We aimed to investigate the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific memory immune responses in discharged COVID-19 patients with and without long COVID symptoms. In this cross-sectional study, we included 1041 hospitalized COVID-19 patients with the original virus strain in Wuhan (China) 12 months after initial infection. We simultaneously conducted a questionnaire survey and collected peripheral blood samples from the participants. Based on the presence or absence of long COVID symptoms during the follow-up period, we divided the patients into 2 groups: a long COVID group comprising 480 individuals and a convalescent group comprising 561 individuals. Both groups underwent virus-specific immunological analyses, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, interferon-γ-enzyme-linked immune absorbent spot, and intracellular cytokine staining. At 12 months after infection, 98.5% (1026/1041) of the patients were found to be seropositive and 93.3% (70/75) had detectable SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cells. The long COVID group had significantly higher levels of receptor binding domain (RBD)-immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, presented as OD450 values, than the convalescent controls (0.40 ± 0.22 vs 0.37 ± 0.20; P = .022). The magnitude of SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses did not differ significantly between groups, nor did the secretion function of the memory T cells. We did not observe a significant correlation between SARS-CoV-2-IgG and magnitude of memory T cells. This study revealed that long COVID patients had significantly higher levels of RBD-IgG antibodies when compared with convalescent controls. Nevertheless, we did not observe coordinated SARS-CoV-2-specific cellular immunity. As there may be multiple potential causes of long COVID, it is imperative to avoid adopting a "one-size-fits-all" approach to future treatment modalities.
Keywords: COVID-19; antibody; cellular response; immune; long COVID.
. 2024 Apr 1;11(4)
fae137.doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae137. eCollection 2024 Apr. Immune Responses in Discharged COVID-19 Patients With and Without Long COVID Symptoms
Yeming Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Li Guo[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Dan Cui[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP], Hui Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Qiao Zhang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Lili Ren[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Geng Wang[SUP] 2 3 5 [/SUP], Xueyang Zhang[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Tingxuan Huang[SUP] 2 3 5 [/SUP], Lan Chen[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Lixue Huang[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Xinming Wang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Jinchuan Zhong[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Ying Wang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Hui Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jianwei Wang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Bin Cao[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38577029
- PMCID: PMC10993057
- DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofae137
The immune mechanisms of long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) are not yet fully understood. We aimed to investigate the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific memory immune responses in discharged COVID-19 patients with and without long COVID symptoms. In this cross-sectional study, we included 1041 hospitalized COVID-19 patients with the original virus strain in Wuhan (China) 12 months after initial infection. We simultaneously conducted a questionnaire survey and collected peripheral blood samples from the participants. Based on the presence or absence of long COVID symptoms during the follow-up period, we divided the patients into 2 groups: a long COVID group comprising 480 individuals and a convalescent group comprising 561 individuals. Both groups underwent virus-specific immunological analyses, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, interferon-γ-enzyme-linked immune absorbent spot, and intracellular cytokine staining. At 12 months after infection, 98.5% (1026/1041) of the patients were found to be seropositive and 93.3% (70/75) had detectable SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cells. The long COVID group had significantly higher levels of receptor binding domain (RBD)-immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, presented as OD450 values, than the convalescent controls (0.40 ± 0.22 vs 0.37 ± 0.20; P = .022). The magnitude of SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses did not differ significantly between groups, nor did the secretion function of the memory T cells. We did not observe a significant correlation between SARS-CoV-2-IgG and magnitude of memory T cells. This study revealed that long COVID patients had significantly higher levels of RBD-IgG antibodies when compared with convalescent controls. Nevertheless, we did not observe coordinated SARS-CoV-2-specific cellular immunity. As there may be multiple potential causes of long COVID, it is imperative to avoid adopting a "one-size-fits-all" approach to future treatment modalities.
Keywords: COVID-19; antibody; cellular response; immune; long COVID.