Functional autoantibodies against G-protein coupled receptors in patients with persistent Long-COVID-19 symptoms

Wallukat G, Hohberger B, Wenzel K, Fürst J, Schulze-Rothe S, Wallukat A, Hönicke AS, Müller J (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Journal of Translational Autoimmunity Elsevier

Book Volume: 4

Article Number: 100100

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtauto.2021.100100

Abstract

Impairment of health after overcoming the acute phase of COVID-19 is being observed more and more frequently. Here different symptoms of neurological and/or cardiological origin have been reported. With symptoms, which are very similar to the ones reported but are not caused by SARS-CoV-2, the occurrence of functionally active autoantibodies (fAABs) targeting G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR-fAABs) has been discussed to be involved. We, therefore investigated, whether GPCR-fAABs are detectable in 31 patients suffering from different Long-COVID-19 symptoms after recovery from the acute phase of the disease. The spectrum of symptoms was mostly of neurological origin (29/31 patients), including post-COVID-19 fatigue, alopecia, attention deficit, tremor and others. Combined neurological and cardiovascular disorders were reported in 17 of the 31 patients. Two recovered COVID-19 patients were free of follow-up symptoms. All 31 former COVID-19 patients had between 2 and 7 different GPCR-fAABs that acted as receptor agonists. Some of those GPCR-fAABs activate their target receptors which cause a positive chronotropic effect in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, the read-out in the test system for their detection (bioassay for GPCR-fAAB detection). Other GPCR-fAABs, in opposite, cause a negative chronotropic effect on those cells. The positive chronotropic GPCR-fAABs identified in the blood of Long-COVID patients targeted the β2-adrenoceptor (β2-fAAB), the α1-adrenoceptor (α1-fAAB), the angiotensin II AT1-receptor (AT1-fAAB), and the nociceptin—like opioid receptor (NOC-fAAB). The negative chronotropic GPCR-fAABs identified targeted the muscarinic M2-receptor (M2-fAAB), the MAS-receptor (MAS-fAAB), and the ETA-receptor (ETA-fAAB). It was analysed which of the extracellular receptor loops was targeted by the autoantibodies.

Authors with CRIS profile

Bettina Hohberger Department of Ophthalmology Julia Fürst Department of Medicine 1 – Gastroenterology, Pneumology and Endocrinology

Involved external institutions

Berlin Cures GmbH DE Germany (DE) Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin / Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Wallukat, G., Hohberger, B., Wenzel, K., Fürst, J., Schulze-Rothe, S., Wallukat, A.,... Müller, J. (2021). Functional autoantibodies against G-protein coupled receptors in patients with persistent Long-COVID-19 symptoms. Journal of Translational Autoimmunity, 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtauto.2021.100100

MLA:

Wallukat, Gerd, et al. "Functional autoantibodies against G-protein coupled receptors in patients with persistent Long-COVID-19 symptoms." Journal of Translational Autoimmunity 4 (2021).

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