To investigate relevant biomarkers that might aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of long COVID (LC), an analysis of IFN-α, IFN-β, ISG15, and ISG56 transcripts was performed by Real-Time PCR among people of working age who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 one year prior to the study [LC and non-long COVID (NLC)]. Despite no differences in the transcript levels of IFN-α, IFN-β, ISG15, and ISG56 between LC and NLC, higher IFN-β mRNA levels were observed among LC compared to NLC individuals who were hospitalized for more than 10 days during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, previously SARS-CoV-2 infected participants that did not require respiratory support and developed LC exhibited higher levels of IFN-α and IFN-β compared to NLC with the same clinical characteristics. These results highlight that SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to changes in peripheral innate immune pathways, which could have implications for the development of LC.
Long COVID and Type I IFN Signature in Working-Age Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study / Santinelli, Letizia; Gentilini Cacciola, Elio; Bortolani, Luca; Ridolfi, Marco; Maddaloni, Luca; Frasca, Federica; Fracella, Matteo; Bugani, Ginevra; D'Ettorre, Gabriella; Mastroianni, Claudio M.; Ceccarelli, Giancarlo; D'Ettorre, Gabriele. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES. - ISSN 1422-0067. - (2025). [10.3390/ijms26189089]
Long COVID and Type I IFN Signature in Working-Age Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study
Letizia Santinelli;Luca Bortolani;Marco Ridolfi;Luca Maddaloni;Federica Frasca;Matteo Fracella;Ginevra Bugani;Gabriella d'Ettorre;Claudio M. Mastroianni;Giancarlo Ceccarelli;
2025
Abstract
To investigate relevant biomarkers that might aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of long COVID (LC), an analysis of IFN-α, IFN-β, ISG15, and ISG56 transcripts was performed by Real-Time PCR among people of working age who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 one year prior to the study [LC and non-long COVID (NLC)]. Despite no differences in the transcript levels of IFN-α, IFN-β, ISG15, and ISG56 between LC and NLC, higher IFN-β mRNA levels were observed among LC compared to NLC individuals who were hospitalized for more than 10 days during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, previously SARS-CoV-2 infected participants that did not require respiratory support and developed LC exhibited higher levels of IFN-α and IFN-β compared to NLC with the same clinical characteristics. These results highlight that SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to changes in peripheral innate immune pathways, which could have implications for the development of LC.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
