Mechanisms of long COVID and the path toward therapeutics

LIINC Principal Investigators, Michael Peluso and Steve Deeks, synthesized Long COVID findings to date. Their article serves to detail the complexity of proposed mechanisms driving Long COVID, from microvascular dysfunction to systemic inflammation, and what is required in the path towards therapeutics.

Original manuscript published in Nature Communications

Early biological markers of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Our team followed people immediately after testing positive for COVID-19, collecting nasal swabs and blood samples days, weeks, and months after their illness. Our results showed that higher levels of the virus in the body and lower levels of antibodies that fight the virus during COVID-19 infection are associated with an increased chance of developing […]

Original manuscript published in Science Translational Medicine

Tissue-based T cell activation and viral RNA persist for up to 2 years after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Our team analyzed disturbances in the immune system and the presence of persistent COVID-19 virus in 24 individuals post-COVID-19 infection. We used a unique PET/CT imaging scan to look at the immune system throughout the body as well as gut biopsy procedures to assess the levels of COVID-19 virus in the gut lining of participants. […]

Original manuscript published in Lancet Infectious Diseases

Plasma-based antigen persistence in the post-acute phase of COVID-19

We used an ultra-sensitive experimental assay on the blood of 171 participants previously infected with COVID-19 and 250 participants whose blood was collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to look for the presence of the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus. While pieces of the COVID-19 virus are common throughout the body when people first […]

Original manuscript published in Nature Immunology

Long COVID manifests with T cell dysregulation, inflammation and an uncoordinated adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2

We looked into the action of the immune system in the blood of participants with and without Long COVID symptoms at 8 months after their COVID-19 infections. In those with Long COVID, we found differences in the activity of certain immune cells, suggesting that there may be a disruption in the communication between different parts […]

Original manuscript published in Cell

Serotonin reduction in post-acute sequelae of viral infection

We collaborated with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania who investigated the level of certain blood proteins in 58 people with Long COVID. Compared to those who completely recovered from COVID-19, researchers found a significant reduction in levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in people with Long COVID. Serotonin is a molecule that regulates communication between […]

Original article published in Nature

Long COVID research risks losing momentum – we need a moonshot

Dr. Michael Peluso (LIINC principal investigator) and Lisa McCorkell (co-founder of the Patient-led Research Collaborative) argue that investing US$1 billion every year for the next ten years into long COVID research could improve the lives of millions and save trillions in economic costs. This increase in funding could lead to better coordination between Long COVID […]

Preprint published on MedRxiv

Multimodal Molecular Imaging Reveals Tissue-Based T Cell Activation and Viral RNA Persistence for Up to 2 Years Following COVID-19

We assessed immune dysregulation in a group of 24 participants using a novel tracer and whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. We noted a significant increase in T cell activation in the post-COVID group (those with and without Long COVID) in many anatomical regions. T cells are a type of immune cell that fights cells […]

Original manuscript published in Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight

Autoantigen profiling reveals a shared post-COVID signature in fully recovered and long COVID patients

We studied the presence of autoantibodies among LIINC participants. Antibodies are proteins the body makes to fight infections, but they can also hurt the body if they are dysfunctional and attack us and not pathogens. These dysfunctional antibodies are called autoantibodies, and some think they could contribute to Long COVID. In this paper, we studied […]

Original manuscript published in Journal of Infectious Disease  

Reduced Exercise Capacity, Chronotropic Incompetence, and Early Systemic Inflammation in Cardiopulmonary Phenotype Long Coronavirus Disease 2019 

We investigated a subset of LIINC participants for cardiopulmonary dysfunction >1 year after their initial COVID-19 infection. We found that among those with Long COVID, nearly 50% had reduced exercise capacity and overall, the group had lower peak oxygen consumption compared to those without Long COVID symptoms. This was also correlated with increased inflammatory markers […]