Long COVID News: Kansas Study Discovers Persistent Circulation Of Soluble And Extracellular Vesicle-Linked Spike Protein In Long COVID Patients!

Long COVID News:  A new study by researchers from the Department of Internal Medicine at University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City – USA has found persistent circulation of soluble and extracellular vesicle-linked spike protein in Long COVID patients!


 
Past Long COVID News coverages have already showed that viral persistence was also contributing to Long COVID.

https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-finally,-u-s-nih-warns-sars-cov-2-viral-persistence-is-a-serious-issue-that-is-also-affecting-long-covid
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-researchers-present-case-reports-of-long-covid-patients-with-persistence-of-residual-sars-cov-2-antigen-and-rna-in-various-tissues
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-many-long-covid-19-patients-have-higher-levels-of-circulating-sars-cov-2-viral-rna-compared-to-those-with-acute-infection
 
The study team investigated the levels of both Spike protein (Spike) and viral RNA circulating in patients hospitalized with acute COVID-19 and in patients with and without Long COVID.
 
The study team found that Spike and viral RNA were more likely to be present in patients with Long COVID.
 
Interestingly, among these patients, 30% were positive for both Spike and viral RNA; whereas, none of the individuals without Long COVID were positive for both.
 
Also, it was found that the levels of Spike and/or viral RNA in the Long COVID positive patients were found to be increased or remained the same as in the acute phase; whereas, in the Long COVID-negative group, these viral components decreased or were totally absent.
 
This is the first study finding to show that part of the circulating Spike is linked to extracellular vesicles without any presence of viral RNA in these vesicles.
 
The study findings suggest that Spike and/or viral RNA fragments persist in the recovered COVID-19 patients with Long COVID up to 1 year or longer after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection!
 
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed Journal of Medical Virology.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmv.28568
 
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected millions of individuals globally, and while many individuals have recovered from the acute phase of the illness, a significant proportion continues to experience persistent symptoms known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) or Long COV ID.
 
This phenomenon has been observed in individuals who have recovered from COVID-19, but continue to experience symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, and muscle weakness for several weeks or months.
 
The Spike protein is a crucial component of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that facilitates its entry into human cells. It is also the primary target of the immune response elicited by COVID-19 vaccines.
 
Past studies have shown that the Spike protein can circulate in the blood of individuals with acute COVID-19, but its presence in Long COVID patients has not been extensively studied.
 
This study findings have shed light on the potential mechanisms underlying Long COVID. The study aimed to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the blood and plasma of individuals with Long COVID.
 
The study team enrolled 18 individuals with Long COVID and 10 healthy controls in the study. The participants with Long COVID had a history of PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and had persistent symptoms for at least 12 weeks after the initial infection. The study team collected blood and plasma samples from all the participants and used various techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry to detect the presence of spike protein.
 
The results of the study revealed that the Spike protein was present in the blood and plasma of all Long COVID patients with levels ranging from 0.6 to 60.7 ng/mL.
 
In contrast, none of the healthy controls had detectable levels of the Spike protein in their blood. These findings suggest that the Spike protein may persist in the bloodstream of Long COVID patients even after the initial infection has resolved and may be involved in the persistence of symptoms in individuals with Long COVID!
 
The study also found that the spike protein was present not only in a soluble form but also in extracellular vesicles (EVs).
 
Extracellular Vesicles or EVs are small membrane-bound particles released by cells that play a role in intercellular communication. They have been implicated in a variety of physiological and pathological processes, including viral infections. EVs can transport various molecules such as proteins, RNA, and lipids. The presence of spike protein in EVs suggests that it may be involved in the pathogenesis of Long COVID by affecting the function of various cells and tissues.
 
The study team suggest that the persistent presence of the Spike protein may contribute to the ongoing inflammation and tissue damage seen in Long COVID patients. They also suggest that the Spike protein may be interacting with other components of the immune system, such as antibodies and T cells, which could lead to dysregulation of the immune response.
 
The study also found a positive correlation between the levels of spike protein and the severity of symptoms in individuals with Long COVID. This suggests that the spike protein may be a potential biomarker for Long COVID and could be used to monitor disease progression and response to treatment.
 
The study findings have important implications for the understanding and management of Long COVID. The presence of spike protein in the blood and plasma of individuals with Long COVID suggests that the virus may persist in the body even after the acute phase of the illness. This could explain the persistence of symptoms in some individuals and highlights the need for continued monitoring and treatment of individuals with Long COVID.
 
The findings also suggests that the spike protein may be a potential target for the development of new therapies for Long COVID.
 
Currently, there are limited treatment options available for individuals with Lobg COVID, and the development of new therapies is essential to improve the quality of life of these individuals.
 
However, the study has some limitations. The sample size was small, and the study was conducted on a single-center, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. Furthermore, the study did not investigate the potential mechanisms by which the spike protein may be involved in the persistence of symptoms in individuals with Long COVID. Future studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms and to confirm the findings of this study.
 
The study team concluded, "The study findings provide important insights into the potential mechanisms underlying Long COVID. The presence of spike protein in the blood and plasma of individuals with Long COVID suggests that the virus may persist in the body even after the acute phase of the illness.
 
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