TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hackenbruch, Christopher
AU  - Maringer, Yacine
AU  - Tegeler, Christian M
AU  - Walz, Juliane
AU  - Nelde, Annika
AU  - Heitmann, Jonas
TI  - Elevated SARS-CoV-2-Specific Antibody Levels in Patients with Post-COVID Syndrome.
JO  - Viruses
VL  - 15
IS  - 3
SN  - 1999-4915
CY  - Basel
PB  - MDPI
M1  - DKFZ-2023-00656
SP  - 701
PY  - 2023
AB  - With the routine use of effective severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines, the number of life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) courses have largely been reduced. However, multiple COVID-19 convalescents, even after asymptomatic to moderate disease, suffer from post-COVID syndrome, with relevant limitations in daily life. The pathophysiologic mechanisms of post-COVID syndrome are still elusive, with dysregulation of the immune system suggested as a central mechanism. Here, we assessed COVID-19 post-infectious symptoms (5-6 months after PCR-confirmed acute infection) together with the humoral immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in non-hospitalized COVID-19 convalescents, early (5-6 weeks) and late (5-6 months) after their first positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR result. Convalescents reporting several post-infectious symptoms (>3) showed higher anti-spike and anti-nucleocapsid antibody levels 5-6 weeks after PCR-confirmed infection with the latter remained increased 5-6 months after positive PCR. Likewise, a higher post-infectious symptom score was associated with increased antibody levels. Of note, convalescents displaying neuro-psychiatric symptoms such as restlessness, palpitations, irritability, and headache, as well as general symptoms such as fatigue/reduced power had higher SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody levels compared with asymptomatic cases. The increased humoral immune response in convalescents with post-COVID syndrome might be useful for the detection of individuals with an increased risk for post-COVID syndrome.
KW  - COVID-19 (Other)
KW  - SARS-CoV-2 (Other)
KW  - humoral immune response (Other)
KW  - post-COVID syndrome (Other)
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - pmid:36992410
DO  - DOI:10.3390/v15030701
UR  - https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/274579
ER  -