The University of Castilla-La Mancha, the General University Hospital of Albacete, the CIC Biogune of the Basque Country, and the Gregorio Marañón General University Hospital of Madrid are developing the project “Immunological Study of Long COVID” (INMUNOCOVID), within the framework of the Complementary Plan for Biotechnology Applied to Health. The coordinating entity of the project is the Health Service of Castilla-La Mancha (SESCAM).
The main objective of this project is to identify patterns of cytokine secretion that allow the type of immune cells involved in this pathology to be recognized.
Covid-19 infection affected 13.9 million people in Spain and has caused the death of approximately 122,000 patients. It is estimated that about 20% of diagnosed patients and about 5% of all people infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop long symptoms, known as long COVID.
These symptoms can include fatigue, discomfort after exertion, metabolic alterations or cognitive impairment and affect multiple organs. Various studies have shown that those who suffer from long COVID show signs of immune dysfunction, persistent activation of immune cells and production of autoimmune antibodies, however, the cause of this is not well known and diagnostic biomarkers are not correctly defined.
In this project, two cohorts of patients with long COVID have been immunologically characterized:
- One made up of 90 patients with brain fog, one of the neurological symptoms of long COVID.
- Another with 20 patients who present metabolic alterations.
In both cohorts, both general and specific inflammatory cytokine levels of the nervous system have been determined using commercial kits.
In addition, an additional cohort has been studied, made up of 40 health workers from the General University Hospital of Albacete, most of whom were infected during the first wave of the pandemic. The immune response has been analysed, using sera obtained since that first wave of the pandemic and sequentially over a period of one year, in order to evaluate the effect of the different doses of vaccine received on the immune and inflammatory profile of the participants both at a general and neurological level.
The collaboration between basic and clinical researchers in the area of inflammation has been key to carrying out this study, which could shed new light on the inflammatory mechanisms responsible for long COVID.
The catalytic role of these basic-clinical collaborations of actions such as the Complementary Plan for Biotechnology Applied to Health, is highlighted.
