A study published by the Journal of Translational Medicine shows that survivors can form autoantibodies up to six months after suffering mild or asymptomatic COVID-19. According to the authors, they can be largely responsible for the so-called long covid that develops in these people.
It has been known for some time that in severe COVID-19 cases, the immune system can produce autoantibodies to attack body tissues. The latest research proves that such antibodies can also develop after mild or even asymptomatic COVID-19 disease. And according to the authors, they can be largely responsible for the so-called long COVID-19.
The authors of the latest work were researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, USA. They examined 177 people who had previously been infected with COVID-19. They then compared the blood samples taken from them with the samples that were collected from he althy people before the pandemic.
It turned out that all people who had COVID-19 had increased levels of autoantibodies (directed against their own tissues), the presence of which was previously associated with autoimmune diseases (in which the immune system mistakenly attacks he althy cells in the body), such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
As study co-author Dr. Susan Cheng commented: "We have seen signals of autoantibody activity that are typically associated with chronic inflammation and damage to specific tissues and organs, such as the joints, skin and nervous system."
The study found that autoantibody reactivity was higher in men. “On the one hand, this is paradoxical because autoimmune diseases tend to be more common in women. On the other hand, it could be expected in some way considering that men are more susceptible to the most severe forms of COVID-19, "comments co-author of the study, Dr. Justyna Fert-Bober.
According to the researcher, the results obtained in the study help to understand what makes COVID-19 a unique disease. As Dr. Fert-Bober adds, this type of immune dysregulation can be the basis for the various types of persistent symptoms seen in people withis developing the so-called long COVID-19.
Currently, scientists want to extend their study to people with long COVID-19 to see what types of autoantibodies they have and whether their presence persists over time. They also plan to check whether autoantibodies develop in vaccinated people who develop SARS-CoV-2 infection.
According to Dr. Cheng, this research could help scientists move closer to developing treatments for, and even preventing, the effects of COVID-19 associated with an overreaction of the immune system in people who are at risk.