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. 2020 Oct 1;222(9):1439-1443.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa485.

Immunoserologic Detection and Diagnostic Relevance of Cross-Reactive Autoantibodies in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients

María Teresa Schiaffino  1 , Marisa Di Natale  1 , Elena García-Martínez  1 , Joaquín Navarro  1 , José Luis Muñoz-Blanco  2 , Pablo Demelo-Rodríguez  3 , Paloma Sánchez-Mateos  1   4
Affiliations

Immunoserologic Detection and Diagnostic Relevance of Cross-Reactive Autoantibodies in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients

María Teresa Schiaffino et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we detected a new immunofluorescence (IF) pattern in serum autoantibody (autoAb) screening of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients.

Methods: The IF pattern was composed of liver and gastric mucosa staining on rat kidney/liver/stomach sections.

Results: We describe 12 patients positive for the cross-reactive antibody, compared with a negative group of 43 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, finding association with either neurologic or thrombotic complications. In sequential pre- and post-COVID-19 serum samples, we confirmed autoAb seroconversion.

Conclusions: Our data indicate that autoAb screening in COVID-19 patients may be easily performed by IF and alert for autoreactive-mediated complications such as thrombotic or neurologic events.

Keywords: COVID-19; autoantibody; autoimmunity; immunofluorescence; molecular mimicry.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
New immunofluorescence pattern detected after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Sequential serum samples from the same patient, before and after COVID-19, were incubated on rat triple tissue sections. Autoreactive antibodies (Abs) were revealed with goat antihuman IgG/A/M conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate (green). Cell nuclei were stained with 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole ([DAPI] (blue). Double fluorescent (green and blue) images of stomach (A), showing the bases of gastric glands, rich in chief cell, or liver (B). No specific green fluorescence, indicative of autoreactive Ab absence, was detected with pre-COVID-19 serum sample (images on the left, as indicated). After the disease (right images), a new autoantibody was detected bound to the plasma membrane of gastric mucosa cells and hepatocytes (higher magnification in right panel inserts).
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