Novel Clinical, Immunological, and Metabolic Features Associated with Persistent Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome, 2024, Santana-de Anda+

Novel Clinical, Immunological, and Metabolic Features Associated with Persistent Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
Santana-de Anda, Karina; Torres-Ruiz, Jiram; Mejía-Domínguez, Nancy R.; Alcalá-Carmona, Beatriz; Maravillas-Montero, José L.; Páez-Franco, José Carlos; Vargas-Castro, Ana Sofía; Lira-Luna, Jaquelin; Camacho-Morán, Emmanuel A.; Juarez-Vega, Guillermo; Meza-Sánchez, David; Núñez-Álvarez, Carlos; Rull-Gabayet, Marina; Gómez-Martín, Diana

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survivors are frequently observed to present persistent symptoms constituting what has been called “post-acute COVID-19 syndrome” (PACS) or “long COVID-19”. Some clinical risk factors have been identified to be associated with PACS development; however, specific mechanisms responsible for PACS pathology remain unknown.

This study investigates clinical, immunological, and metabolomic risk factors associated with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) in 51 patients, assessed 7–19 months after acute infection. Among the participants, 62.7% were male and 37.2% were female, with an average age of 47.8 years. At the follow-up, 37.2% met the criteria for PACS, revealing significant differences in immunological and metabolomic profiles at the time of acute infection.

Patients with PACS were characterized by elevated levels of mature low-density granulocytes (LDGs), interleukin-8 (IL-8), pyruvate, pseudouridine, and cystine. Baseline multivariate analysis showed increased pyruvate and decreased alpha tocopherol levels. At follow-up, there was a decrease in absolute B lymphocytes and an increase in non-classical monocytes and 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid levels.

These findings suggest that specific immunological and metabolomic markers during acute infection can help identify patients at higher risk of developing persistent PACS.

Link | PDF (International Journal of Molecular Sciences) [Open Access]