Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Aug:77:102228.
doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2022.102228. Epub 2022 May 24.

Inflammation, immunity, and antigen persistence in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infectionImmunity and inflammaion in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Krista L Newell  1 , Adam T Waickman  2
Affiliations
Review

Inflammation, immunity, and antigen persistence in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infectionImmunity and inflammaion in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Krista L Newell et al. Curr Opin Immunol. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 infection is known to result in a range of symptoms with varying degrees of acute-phase severity. In a subset of individuals, an equally diverse collection of long-term sequelae has been reported after convalescence. As survivorship and therefore the number of individuals with 'long-COVID' continues to grow, an understanding of the prevalence, origins, and mechanisms of post-acute sequelae manifestation is critically needed. Here, we will explore proposed roles of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response in the onset, severity, and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 post-acute sequelae. We discuss the potential roles of persistent virus and autoantigens in this syndrome, as well as the contributions of unresolved inflammation and tissue injury. Furthermore, we highlight recent evidence demonstrating the potential benefits of vaccination and immunity in the resolution of post-acute symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graphical abstract of potential roles of the immune system in PASC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Al-Aly Z., Xie Y., Bowe B. High-dimensional characterization of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19. Nature. 2021;594:259–264. - PubMed

    2. This article provided extensive characterization of symptoms and comorbidities associated with SARS-CoV-2 post-acute illness.

    1. Davis H.E., Assaf G.S., McCorkell L., Wei H., Low R.J., Re’em Y., Redfield S., Austin J.P., Akrami A. Characterizing long COVID in an international cohort: 7 months of symptoms and their impact. EClinicalMedicine. 2021;38 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sudre C.H., Murray B., Varsavsky T., Graham M.S., Penfold R.S., Bowyer R.C., Pujol J.C., Klaser K., Antonelli M., Canas L.S., et al. Attributes and predictors of long COVID. Nat Med. 2021;27:626–631. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Xie Y., Bowe B., Al-Aly Z. Burdens of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 by severity of acute infection, demographics and health status. Nat Commun. 2021;12 - PMC - PubMed

    2. This study describes the results of a comprehensive data analysis using medical records from the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. A correlation between disease severity and the risk of PASC was identified after adjusting for confounders.

    1. Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University: COVID-19 Dashboard; 2022.