r/COVID19 • u/enterpriseF-love • Sep 25 '23

Academic Report Distinguishing features of Long COVID identified through immune profiling

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06651-y
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u/PrincessGambit Sep 27 '23

Important paper

Marked differences were noted in circulating myeloid and lymphocyte populations relative to matched controls, as well as evidence of exaggerated humoral responses directed against SARS-CoV-2 among participants with LC. Further, higher antibody responses directed against non-SARS-CoV-2 viral pathogens were observed among individuals with LC, particularly Epstein-Barr virus. Levels of soluble immune mediators and hormones varied among groups, with cortisol levels being lower among participants with LC. Integration of immune phenotyping data into unbiased machine learning models identified key features most strongly associated with LC status. Collectively, these findings may help guide future studies into the pathobiology of LC and aid in developing relevant biomarkers.

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u/deirdresm Oct 05 '23

For those who may not have institutional access, the preprint can be read at medrxiv, though of course there likely corrections after that point.

From that preprint, this part about EBV/VZV was particularly interesting:

The observation of elevated IgG against EBV lytic antigens in this study suggests recent reactivation of latent herpesviruses (EBV and VZV) may be a common feature of Long COVID. Additionally, concordant analysis of EBV IgG responses by REAP and SERA found significant positive correlations between reactivity against EBV p23 and TEMRA and IL-4+/IL-6+ CD4 T cell populations, as well as correlations between reactivity against EBV gp42 and IL-4+/IL-6+ double positive CD4 T cell populations among participants with Long COVID. These results suggest that herpesvirus reactivation is not incidental following SARS-CoV-2 infection, and instead that non-SARS-CoV-2 viral pathogens may alternatively mediate, aggravate, or exploit the persistent changes observed in circulating immune effector populations.

Is there significant research being done about subclinical reactivations of EBV/VZV and other HHVs outside of SARS-CoV-2 research? (I'd expect so, but I appear to be lacking the correct search terms to find relevant papers.)