‘Autoantibodies’ in Covid patients linked to severe cases of disease, scientists find
Misguided proteins attack healthy organs and person’s own immune system instead of battling against virus
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The immune systems of some Covid-19 patients may be turning against their own bodies, triggering complications including “long Covid”, scientists have found.
So-called autoantibodies in people infected with coronavirus could be interfering with their immune response, contributing to more severe cases of the disease in some patients and leaving others suffering from the effects of the virus months later.
Scientists from Yale University, which carried out the study, observed Covid patients with these misguided proteins that attacked healthy organs and the person’s own immune system instead of battling against the virus.
The more autoantibodies a patient had in their blood, the worse they seemed to be affected by the disease.
Aaron Ring, an immunobiologist at Yale and senior author on the study, told The Guardian: “Covid-19 patients make autoantibodies that actually interfere with immune responses against the virus.
“We certainly believe that these autoantibodies are harmful to patients with Covid-19.
“Because antibodies can persist for a long time, it’s conceivable that they may contribute to the development of long-Covid diseases.”
Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system to help the body to recognise and fight infection. Autoantibodies are antibodies that recognise and fight healthy parts of the body instead of invading viruses.
The researchers worked with 194 Covid patients and healthcare workers to study 2,770 proteins.
Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at Yale who co-authored the report, said: “Our findings provide clues for why Covid affects many organs [and] induce [a] range of symptoms that are long lasting.
“A large fraction of Covid patients had autoantibodies to multiple self antigens. The more severe the disease, [the] more autoantibodies they had.”
But she added: “There are many unanswered questions. How long do these autoantibodies last? What damage do they cause? How are they induced? Do they occur in long Covid?”
The study has not yet been peer reviewed or published in a journal.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments