Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2025
Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels
Published on: August 7, 2017
Distinct pro-inflammatory/pro-angiogenetic signatures distinguish children with Long COVID from controls
Danilo Buonsenso1, Nicola Cotugno2,3, Donato Amodio2,3
1Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy. danilobuonsenso@gmail.com.
Insights
Pediatric Long COVID exhibits a distinct inflammatory protein signature, similar to adults. This study identifies key chemokines and a proteomic profile for diagnosing Long COVID in children, aiding future test development.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pediatrics
- Proteomics
Background:
- Adult Long COVID is linked to pro-inflammatory and thrombo-inflammatory signatures.
- The proteomic profile of pediatric Long COVID remains under-investigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the proteomic profile of Long COVID in children.
- To identify inflammatory markers associated with pediatric Long COVID.
Main Methods:
- Extensive plasma protein analysis was conducted on pediatric patients (<19 years) with Long COVID.
- Control groups included children with acute COVID-19, MIS-C, and healthy children.
- Long COVID was defined by symptoms persisting ≥8 weeks, impacting daily life, and with no other explanation.
Main Results:
- 34 pediatric Long COVID patients were analyzed alongside controls.
- Pediatric Long COVID showed elevated expression of pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenetic chemokines (e.g., CXCL11, CXCL1, CXCL8).
- A machine learning model achieved 0.93 accuracy, 0.86 specificity, and 0.97 sensitivity in identifying Long COVID.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric Long COVID presents a distinct blood protein signature characterized by general and endothelial inflammation.
- This is the first study to document a pro-inflammatory profile in pediatric Long COVID blood samples.
- Findings support the development of novel diagnostic tools for pediatric Long COVID.
Background:
Recent proteomic studies have documented that Long COVID in adults is characterized by a pro-inflammatory signature with thromboinflammation. However, if similar events happen also in children with Long COVID has never been investigated.
Methods:
We performed an extensive protein analysis of blood plasma from pediatric patients younger than 19 years of age Long COVID and a control group of children with acute COVID-19, MIS-C, and healthy controls resulted similar for sex distribution and age. Children were classified as Long COVID if symptoms persisted for at least 8 weeks since the initial infection, negatively impacted daily life and could not be explained otherwise.
Results:
112 children were included in the study, including 34 children fulfilling clinical criteria of Long COVID, 32 acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, 27 MIS-C and 19 healthy controls. Compared with controls, pediatric Long COVID was characterized by higher expression of the proinflammatory and pro-angiogenetic set of chemokines CXCL11, CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL8, TNFSF11, OSM, STAMBP1a. A Machine Learning model based on proteomic profile was able to identify LC with an accuracy of 0.93, specificity of 0.86 and sensitivity of 0.97.
Conclusions:
Pediatric Long COVID patients have a well distinct blood protein signature marked by increased ongoing general and endothelial inflammation, similarly as happens in adults.
Impact:
Pediatric Long COVID has a distinct blood protein signature marked by increased ongoing general and endothelial inflammation. This is the first study studying and documenting proinflammatory profile in blood samples of children with long COVID. Long COVID was characterized by higher expression of the proinflammatory and pro-angiogenetic set of chemokines CXCL11, CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL8, TNFSF11, OSM, STAMBP1a. A proteomic profile was able to identify Long COVID with an accuracy of 0.93, specificity of 0.86 and sensitivity of 0.97. These findings may inform development of future diagnostic tests.
More Related Videos
10:21Author Spotlight: Exploring the Role of Inflammation in the Co-occurrence of Primary Sjogren's Syndrome and Lung Adenocarcinoma
Published on: September 20, 2024
08:16An IL-8 Transiently Transgenized Mouse Model for the In Vivo Long-term Monitoring of Inflammatory Responses
Published on: July 7, 2017
