Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology
Open Access

AIDS Immunopathology Unit, National Center of Microbiology, Madrid, Spain

Publications

• Research   
  Cytokine deficiencies in patients with Long-COVID
  Author(s): Vicente Planelles*, Elizabeth SCP Williams, Thomas B. Martins, Adam M. Spivak, Kevin S. Shah, Harry R. Hill and Mayte Coiras
  
  Up to half of individuals who contract SARS-CoV-2 develop symptoms of long-COVID approximately three months after initial infection. These symptoms are highly variable, and the mechanisms inducing them are yet to be understood. We compared plasma cytokine levels from individuals with long-COVID to healthy individuals and found that those with long-COVID had 100% reductions in circulating levels of Interferon Gamma (IFNγ) and Interleukin-8 (IL-8). Additionally, we found significant reductions in levels of IL-6, IL-2, IL-17, IL-13, and IL-4 in individuals with long-COVID. We propose immune exhaustion as the driver of long-COVID, with the complete absence of IFNγ and IL-8preventing the lungs and other organs from healing after acute infection, and reducing the ability to fight off subsequent infections, both contributing to the myriad of symptoms suffered by those with long-C.. View More»
  DOI: 10.35248/2155-9899.22.13.672

  Abstract HTML PDF