Possible Biomarker for Long-Covid Discovered
In the study published in the journal "Frontiers in Immunology," the research group led by Winfried Pickl and Rudolf Valenta examined the levels of so-called acute phase proteins in the blood of 141 Covid-19 survivors ten weeks and ten months after infection and compared them with the values of 98 non-infected control individuals. Acute phase proteins are components of the innate immune system that are rapidly released into the blood during infections to fend off infections and regulate the associated inflammatory and healing processes.
Elevated Blood Protein Level Indicates Development of ME/CFS
During the acute phase of Covid-19, elevated serum levels of several such proteins from this group are associated with severe to fatal clinical courses. Typically, these markers return to their baseline levels within a few days after the acute infection subsides. However, as the investigations revealed, PTX-3 levels in severely ill Covid-19 survivors were still significantly elevated ten weeks after infection. Furthermore, a portion of those with severe courses also showed significantly higher PTX-3 levels ten months after the acute phase compared to those with mild courses or non-infected control individuals.
"We assume that the elevated PTX-3 levels either indicate an ongoing repair mechanism in the body or even the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 remnants in the body itself," explained Winfried Pickl. "PTX-3 could thus serve as a biomarker for long-lasting tissue damage and/or long-term immune activation as well as for possible complications after Covid-19," added Rudolf Valenta.
This also highlighted another possibility of how Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) could develop. "Prolonged immune activation due to ongoing repair processes and remaining viral components in the body are already being associated with the development of long-Covid in science. Our study provides an important additional detail to these mechanisms," reported first author Bernhard Kratzer. Further research is needed.
(APA/Red.)
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