AUTOANTIBODIES Flashcards
AUTOANTIBODIES
Antibodies
That turn against elements of our own immune defences
Key driver of severe illness and death following SARS-CoV-2 infection in some people
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02337-5?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=ec71f8618b-briefing-dy-20210901&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-ec71f8618b-46207378
Autoantibodies
Are also present in a small proportion of healthy, uninfected individuals
Their prevalence increases with age
Which may help to explain why elderly people are at higher risk of severe COVID-19.
Around 10% of people with severe COVID-19 had autoantibodies that attack and block type 1 interferons
Interferons: - protein molecules - in the blood - that have a critical role - in fighting off viral infections
The international research team focused on
Detecting autoantibodies
That could neutralize lower, more physiologically relevant concentrations of interferons.
They studied 3,595 patients
from 38 countries with critical COVID-19,
- meaning that the individuals were ill enough to be admitted to an intensive-care unit.
Overall, 13.6% of these patients possessed autoantibodies, with the proportion ranging from 9.6% of those below the age of 40, up to 21% of those over 80.
Autoantibodies were also present in 18% of people who had died of the disease.
The researchers hunted for autoantibodies
In a massive collection of blood samples
Taken from almost 35,000 healthy people BEFORE the pandemic.
They found that 0.18%
Of those between 18 and 69
Had existing autoantibodies against type 1 interferon,
And that this proportion increased with age:
- autoantibodies were present in around 1.1% of 70- to 79-year-olds,
- and 3.4% of those over the age of 80.
“There is a massive increase in prevalence” with age, Casanova says.
“This largely explains the high risk of severe COVID in people in the elderly population.”
He adds that these findings have clear clinical implications,
- and suggests that hospitals should be checking patients for these autoantibodies,
- as well as MUTATIONS implicated in BLOCKING type 1 INTERFERONS.
This could identify people who are more likely to become critically ill from COVID-19, helping physicians to tailor their treatment appropriately.
A sample of more than 30,000 people is “too big to ignore”,
He adds that researchers should now consider whether autoantibodies play a part in driving other infectious diseases.
Ring’s team has already found evidence of autoantibodies against various immune-system components in people with COVID-19, and he and his colleagues are now investigating further
