Publication date: Nov 01, 2024
Multiple studies have shown that Long COVID (LC) disease is associated with heightened immune activation, as evidenced by elevated levels of inflammatory mediators. However, there is no comprehensive meta-analysis focusing on activation of the immune inflammatory response system (IRS) and the compensatory immunoregulatory system (CIRS) along with other immune phenotypes in LC patients. This meta-analysis is designed to explore the IRS and CIRS profiles in LC patients, the individual cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, along with C-reactive protein (CRP) and immune-associated neurotoxicity. To gather relevant studies for our research, we conducted a thorough search using databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and SciFinder, covering all available literature up to July 5th, 2024. The current meta-analysis encompassed 103 studies that examined multiple immune profiles, C-reactive protein, and 58 cytokines/chemokines/growth factors in 5502 LC patients versus 5962 normal controls (NC). LC patients showed significant increases in IRS/CIRS ratio (standardized mean difference (SMD: 0. 156, confidence interval (CI): 0. 062;0. 250), IRS (SMD: 0. 338, CI: 0. 236;0. 440), M1 macrophage (SMD: 0. 371, CI: 0. 263;0. 480), T helper (Th)1 (SMD: 0. 316, CI: 0. 185;0. 446), Th17 (SMD: 0. 439, CI: 0. 302;0. 577) and immune-associated neurotoxicity (SMD: 0. 384, CI: 0. 271;0. 497). In addition, CRP and 21 different cytokines displayed significantly elevated levels in LC patients compared to NC. LC disease is characterized by IRS activation and increased immune-associated neurotoxicity.
Semantics
Type | Source | Name |
---|---|---|
disease | MESH | Long COVID |
pathway | REACTOME | IRS activation |
disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
disease | MESH | Inflammation |
disease | MESH | Syndromes |