Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Blood Biomarkers Show Neural Consequences of LongCOVID-19

Norina Tang
ORCID logo ,
Tatsuo Kido
,
Jian Shi
ORCID logo ,
Erin McCafferty
,
Judith M. Ford
,
Kaitlyn Dal Bon
,
Lynn Pulliam
*
Version 1 : Received: 15 February 2024 / Approved: 16 February 2024 / Online: 16 February 2024 (07:02:10 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Tang, N.; Kido, T.; Shi, J.; McCafferty, E.; Ford, J.M.; Dal Bon, K.; Pulliam, L. Blood Markers Show Neural Consequences of LongCOVID-19. Cells 2024, 13, 478. Tang, N.; Kido, T.; Shi, J.; McCafferty, E.; Ford, J.M.; Dal Bon, K.; Pulliam, L. Blood Markers Show Neural Consequences of LongCOVID-19. Cells 2024, 13, 478.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) persists throughout the world with over 65 million registered cases of survivors with post-COVID-19 sequelae, also known as LongCOVID-19 (LongC). LongC survivors exhibit various symptoms that span multiple organ systems, including the nervous system. To search for neurological biomarkers of LongC, we investigated the soluble proteins present in the plasma and the proteins associated with plasma neuronal-enriched extracellular vesicles (nEVs) in 33 LongC patients with neurological impairment (nLongC), 12 COVID-19 survivors without any LongC symptoms (Cov), and 28 pre-COVID-19 healthy controls (HC). COVID-19 positive participants were infected from 2020-2022, not hospitalized, and were vaccinated or unvaccinated before infection. IL-1b was significantly increased in both nLongC and Cov and IL-8 elevated in only nLongC. Both brain-derived neurotropic factor and cortisol were significantly elevated in nLongC and Cov compared to HC. nEVs from people with nLongC had significantly elevated protein markers of neuronal dysfunction, including amyloid beta 42, pTau181 and TDP-43. This study shows chronic peripheral inflammation with increased stress after COVID-19 infection. Additionally, differentially expressed nEV neurodegenerative proteins were identified in people recovering from COVID-19 regardless of persistent symptoms.

Keywords

LongCOVID-19; biomarkers; neuronal extracellular vesicles; BDNF; cortisol; cognition

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Neuroscience and Neurology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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