Multiomic and Spatial Profiling of Colorectal Tissue Reveals Viral Persistence and Immune Dysregulation in Long COVID

LIINC researchers performed high-dimensional profiling of colorectal tissue and peripheral blood in people with and without Long COVID. They found that in people with Long COVID, SARS-CoV-2 activates innate myeloid signaling that drives chronic tissue inflammation, while simultaneously suppressing pathways needed for viral clearance, including antigen presentation, phagocytosis, and cytotoxic immune responses—a signature far more pronounced in tissue than in blood. The findings suggest Long COVID may be driven by immune dysregulation that prevents clearance of persistent viral reservoirs, pointing to therapies that restore cytotoxic immune function as a potential treatment strategy.