Convalescent COVID-19 patients are susceptible to endothelial dysfunction due to persistent immune activation.
Elife
; 102021 03 23.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1146275
ABSTRACT
Numerous reports of vascular events after an initial recovery from COVID-19 form our impetus to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on vascular health of recovered patients. We found elevated levels of circulating endothelial cells (CECs), a biomarker of vascular injury, in COVID-19 convalescents compared to healthy controls. In particular, those with pre-existing conditions (e.g., hypertension, diabetes) had more pronounced endothelial activation hallmarks than non-COVID-19 patients with matched cardiovascular risk. Several proinflammatory and activated T lymphocyte-associated cytokines sustained from acute infection to recovery phase, which correlated positively with CEC measures, implicating cytokine-driven endothelial dysfunction. Notably, we found higher frequency of effector T cells in our COVID-19 convalescents compared to healthy controls. The activation markers detected on CECs mapped to counter receptors found primarily on cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, raising the possibility of cytotoxic effector cells targeting activated endothelial cells. Clinical trials in preventive therapy for post-COVID-19 vascular complications may be needed.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Endothelium, Vascular
/
Lymphocyte Activation
/
Cardiovascular Diseases
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
ELife.64909
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