MicroRNA sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells reveals significant expression changes in women with Long COVID, 2026, REIS et al

[forestglip]

MicroRNA sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells reveals significant expression changes in women with Long COVID

Spoiler: Authors

REIS, GIANE G. DOS; MOREIRA, DANIEL A.; PARENTE, THIAGO ESTEVAM; MÜLLER, BEATRIZ L. ALESSIO; MOREIRA, ALINE S.; ALVES, GILDA; CHANTRE-JUSTINO, MARIANA; DELMONICO, LUCAS; LOPES, BRUNO A.; SILVESTRE, RAFAELE T.; ORNELLAS, MARIA HELENA; SANTOS, LOUISY S. DOS; MATTOS-GUARALDI, ANA LUIZA

Abstract
Long COVID is a clinical condition marked by persistent symptoms like fatigue and brain fog, estimated to have affected many of post-SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 infection patients. This study, conducted with adult female Long COVID patients from Pedro Ernesto University Hospital (HUPE) in Rio de Janeiro, investigated the role of microRNAs (miRNAs), key post-transcriptional gene expression regulators, in this new condition.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics analysis of miRNAs extracted from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) revealed differential expression of 37 miRNAs (10 upregulated, 27 downregulated). Notably, 28 of these miRNAs have been previously linked to inflammation or COVID-19, a significant finding given Long COVID’s association with a persistent inflammatory state and potential for serious adverse events.

Validation by qPCR confirmed hsa-miR-1307-3p, hsa-miR-26a-5p, and miR-186-5p as potential Long COVID biomarkers. The continuous overexpression of hsa-miR-1307-3p, which bound to the initial SARS-CoV-2 variants, may have contributed to increased inflammatory factors.

Understanding how miRNAs modulate the inflammatory cascade could be crucial in mitigating the global health impact of future pandemics.

Web | DOI | PDF | Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências | Open Access

 

[SNT Gatchaman]

I think this is just comparing "long Covid" vs uninfected controls, so it might really only be showing differences in Covid +ve vs Covid -ve.

Participants were selected based on the presence or absence of Long COVID symptoms (Ely et al. 2024) by a MD (GGR), with inclusion limited to adult women aged 40-60 years. […] A total of 22 female patients (average age 49.1 years old, SD ±10.6) with Long COVID symptoms (Table I) were recruited from 2021 to 2022 at the outpatient clinic of HUPE in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Peripheral blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes in the same period.

Table 1 shows at least one patient whose symptoms were just anosmia/hyposmia and ageusia/hypogeusia.

The control group was composed of 11 females (average age of 49.6 years, SD ± 5.9). The participants of the control group were recruited in Rio de Janeiro from 2022 until 2024. As for COVID-19 infection/symptoms: 1/11 of the participants reported had tested positive once even though asymptomatic; 1/11 reported having mild symptoms (runny nose, nasal congestion and cough), but did not test for COVID-19; 8/11 reported presenting no COVID-19 symptoms and tested negative; and 1/11 reported no COVID-19 symptoms and was not ever tested.

Unlikely to be useful data.